Google new Chat app

A few days ago I read news about freezing Google Allo development to switch to the new “Chat” application:

• Google is ‘pausing investment’ in Allo
• Google pauses work on Allo in favor of “Chat,” an RCS-based messaging standard, etc.

As some of you probably know Google already has too many communication applications. But all of them are not successful.

So now we have one more attempt announced together with the news that one of the current apps started its way (“development freeze”) to the end. Can’t say that all of that is a surprise for me (especially that I’ve worked for Google for a while and saw it from inside).

After reading that I’m pretty much sure it would not be successful and will die soon as all its predecessors did. And that is why:

It based on Rich Communication Services (RCS), which is evolution of an SMS. It does not use the internet as transport for communication, but some special extension which must be supported by your mobile service provider.

This leads to many disadvantages. TCP/IP is universal protocol, and you can transfer anything with it to any connected device, while this new stuff will be limited to mobile connected devices only. You also can’t use Wi-Fi for cheap communication while you abroad and in roaming — this doesn’t work via Wi-Fi. Not only yours service provider needs to support RCS, but also a service provider of who are you communicate with needs this support either. If tomorrow someone invents some new cool functionality for the communication, we need to support that on that RCS side first and again make all mobile service providers upgrade. And after all of that I’m curious are they going to charge us per message as it used to be?

What’s about advantages of that new way to communicate? Non. Simply no. Ok, you can communicate if your carrier doesn’t support internet but support this new stuff which I found very unlikely.

Using messenger independent from mobile network gives me freedom. Freedom to travel and stay in touch with my friends (I buy cheap local SIM). Freedom of communicating with any device I want (phone, tablet, desktop or laptop). Option to switch mobile network provider, and do not be afraid of changing mobile number. I don’t want to have a mobile number at all!

Google is going to go against that trend. As a user, I can’t support that. It feels so wrong to become more dependent on a service provider and phone number instead of the cheap and universally available internet. This feel like a giant step back. And I’m pretty much sure it will be unsuccessful.

Google why are you doing that? Do you need one more failed messenger?