Google Talk is an instant messaging software that allows us to communicate by voice, video, and text.

The years in which the instant messaging system was the best to communicate have been left behind. Thanks to mobile technology, we can easily communicate with friends without having to turn on the PC. Even so, this does not mean that instant messaging is dead. Instant messaging programs have evolved, and in addition to sending text messages to friends, we can also speak with a microphone or make video calls using a webcam.

Google Talk or Gtalk is an ideal tool to communicate with our Gmail contacts because we can use chat, video call, or voice communication. In addition, we will not have to add our Gmail contacts, as to make use of Gtalk, we will log in with our Gmail address, and it automatically imports all our contacts into the program.

This software is notable for its simplicity, as it focuses on functionality. The interface is clean and straightforward, without thousands of options distracting us from the main purpose. This doesn't mean that we cannot modify specific programs' features; for example, we can change the chat conversations design, being able to choose from 9 different styles. We can also configure the notifications to alert us when a friend starts a session when we receive an incoming call, a new chat, or a new e-mail in our Gmail account. We can also add an avatar that will be shown to our contacts when talking with them.

A useful option, and very typical of these programs, is the ability to change our state. We can choose among which are defined by default: active, away, busy, etc., or we can define our state. If we don't use the PC for 10 minutes, the state will change to “away.”

The program supports a proxy configuration, so we can use the program if our PC connects to the Internet through a proxy.

Google has replaced Gtalk with Google Hangouts; even so, Google Talk can be downloaded and used. Many users are still using Gtalk, although it has been discontinued, as the new application, Hangouts, doesn't have all the Gtalk features.

On Google's official page, Google Talk is no longer available to download for PC. Here we offer the downloadable version and a fully functional program.