Google Alloc - the new chat app

1. Small app file size and ease of setting up: it takes just 3 taps to set it up and is definitely much easier and quicker than other rival chat apps. A smaller app size makes sure that people in developing countries with 2G/ EDGE connection do not have to wait long times for the installation process

2. Look and feel: The app has been superbly designed to have a minimalist look and feel and presents the material design and animations in all its glory. I was not able to see the 60 FPS animations but on the new nexii it would be a cancer curing sight to behold. Also I personally felt that alloc has the most awesome screen estate use, which cleverly integrates white spaces with app boundaries and overall results in an immersive experience with the bezels of your smartphone being the only limiting factor. This is in stark contrast with whatsapp which makes use of custom wallpapers to enhance customization. Also the chat bubbles in whatsapp and alloc makes it feel like alloc has much more screen space, this is the work of some highly evolved UI gurus in google’ team.

3. Usability: The usability of the app is on par with whatsapp, albeit you may notice some change in the placement of icons but overall the way to select and send pictures, audio, text, emojis, stickers and other data is almost the same as in other messaging apps and as it is already in the most ergonomic state, improvement in this area will take time and might involve development of new hardware features to bring a revolution. A good example (though not radically change bringing) is Apple’s force touch, which brings in the new ways to interact with the software.

4. The power of google + machine learning: This is probably the most awesome feature at least for me, a user who constantly has to reply, ‘okay’, ‘k’, ‘done’, ‘awesome’ to a number of texts which need a prompt reply. You can literally feel the power when you get flight details in milliseconds in a manner that someone replies you in a whatspp text (without switching your current app or even the current screen) and with multiple options, which can further refine your search without you needing to type anything!! You can search for scores of your favourite team, a sample chain goes likes this, Barcelona score> schedule> transfer news>would you like to get a daily alert>8 AM

5. Google in chat: Google automatically analyses your chats (which may be scary for some people) but pops up when it has its 2 cents to offer and they are often worth considering. For example it will suggest you restaurants when you are discussing about food, or suggest a movie>similar movies>cast>leonardo Di Caprio>Wolf of wall street>drugs> where to buy drugs>laws regarding drug use>lawyers>…. You get the idea, you can almost branch into anything and very quickly and that is what makes it a lethal weapon in google’s arsenal. How many times you had to switch to chrome just to google the new place your friend suggested? Alloc eliminates that pain point of switching apps. Its not 100% effective but it helps a lot to save time and keeps the flow of the chat.

6. Fun: You can play some games, quizzes, doodles with the google bot or ‘google assistant’ as alloc likes to call it. You can play pac man, guess movie names with emojis, it provides you hint if you ask for. This may not be the best area, but I think google just wants to see how many people are actually going to use these and then decide the development in this area based on the response. Anyway its a fun way to kill time in commutes, and you can always try riddles!

7. A gateway into the future: Google always tries to make google search the most accessible and accurate. Be it google now, google and tap and alloc. What makes alloc the best among these is that it does not want you to speak, neither does it want you to select and tap a word, you simply have to keep tapping the keywords which will be automatically by alloc. Basically alloc is even thinking what you might want to search next. I love mountains, may be I want to know the mountains nearby, how can I visit them, how much is the distance, what are the ways of transportation, is there any gear required? .Google can also pull in your pet’s photos from google photos, your flight details from gmail, flight status, flight duration. Its an experiment but to me this feels the most easiest way to interact with the web for the sole purpose of gathering information.

8. Pending: Shout, Whisper, incognito mode, reply on notifications, app stability.