By Mark O’Neill

Only a few weeks ago, I pondered if Google Talk may end up knocking Trillian and Pidgin off their multi-chat platform thrones, by embracing a multi-chat platform themselves. Now if rumor is anything to go by, I may be right.

The ability to add instant messaging ID’s in the new Gmail contacts manager has led to rumors that Google Talk may be on the verge of connecting to other IM networks. So this would mean Google Talk moving from a single chat platform (Google Talk) to a multi-chat platform where the user can use Google Talk to also connect to networks such as AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger and ICQ.

If this comes to fruition, it would be a huge adrenalin shot in the arm for the future prospects of Google Talk which is languishing behind the other instant messaging giants. It woud be a huge jolt to Trillian and Pidgin who may find their dominance in the multi-chat platform market threatened by the big Google monster.

I personally like the Google Talk interface much better than my current software of choice, Pidgin. The Google Talk application has a nice clean design and it is bundled together with a new mail notification for my Gmail account. Google Talk is just more pleasant to look at and use. So if Trillian and Pidgin want to stay ahead of the game, they might consider a radical overhaul of their user interface to make it look as nice as Google Talk and also more useful. How about better looking skins, brighter and better designed avatars and customisable sounds?