From the blog post "Disclaimer: I still haven't tried Hangout, not enough people in my circles yet."
I don't think Google Hangout will have the same use case as most Skype video calls/chats (which are a one to one communication, or at least I would assume).
I think if anything (and this may be OT), companies like Path and the numerous group messaging apps should be the ones concerned with Circles and Huddle respectively.
True, I haven't tried it (yet). There may be different use cases but there are still extra hurdles to using skype e.g sharing SkypeIDs and 'connecting', whereas on Hangout, that part is already covered. I can see that being pretty valuable once there are more people on the platform.
However, if I have the option, I think I'd rather run a conference call in Hangout than in Skype. The one issue would be that Hangouts are displayed to a circle whereas a Skype call is private to the people invited. Of course it would be trivial to set up a circle just for one hangout but that's still an extra step.
AFAIK, hangout seems to be a much casual thing. If you want to find specific targets I don't think you can do that with hangout. However I don't have an invite yet so I might be wrong.
As everything in Google+ you can choose a Circle, all your Circles, your Extended Circle, or just choose contact by contact, I think it's definitely a Skype killer :)
Yes. It absolutely murdered skype. I work with some friends on a project that has weekly meetings, and we've been doing them via phone conference calls. We have simply been unable to find something to handle conference video chats that didn't cost an arm and a leg. Google+ is going to be a major (positive) change in our work flow.
I tried it out last night with a couple of friends. It certainly works fine, quality is good and all. And it was easy enough (aside from installing the plugin for the first time).
The Youtube sharing is an interesting idea, though it very quickly degenerated to rickrolls and nyancats.
Though it's called "hangout" that shows potential for other uses as well - if they could integrate something like shared desktop viewing it would definitely be killer.
I don't really have enough experience with skype video chat to say if this is as good or better, but it does seem promising.
From what I've seen it has the potential to dethrone Skype but the major issue they have to overcome is that Skype is a household name when it comes to video calling. It's similar to how everybody still says 'Hoover' when really they should say vacuum cleaner.
It will take a lot to shift the mass market away from Skype.
The biggest problem that I have with skype is that there is not an easy way to know who else has it. If google can fix that small issue, it will be able to render skype useless for me.
It's possible there's something in the pipeline for Android.
However, I've rarely used Skype from my mobile devices since it's easier to just call someone (I'm also more likely to have their number than their skypeID). Also, I've never tried a conference call via the Skype apps. Is that possible?
I don't think Google Hangout will have the same use case as most Skype video calls/chats (which are a one to one communication, or at least I would assume).
I think if anything (and this may be OT), companies like Path and the numerous group messaging apps should be the ones concerned with Circles and Huddle respectively.