<p>Google has today announced Hangouts, a new messaging service that replaces the numerous Google services that currently help you have real-time conversations with other users, such as Google Talk, Google Voice and Google+ Hangouts.</p><p>It will launch on most major platforms later today, including iOS, Android and the Web. (Update: grab the iOS version, Chrome app or Android version - the Android version isn't quite there yet at the time of writing).</p><p>Hangouts is a new, standalone application, which Google says is about "conversations which last" and "with people that you love."</p><p>It's a standalone app, which comes with its own icon both on Android and iOS. The home screen shows a list of conversations with profile photographs on the left-hand side and a 'plus' symbol at the top for starting a new message. There's also a scroll bar down the let-hand side for what appears to be quick navigation throughout the app.</p><p><a href="http://thenextweb.com/google/2013/05/15/google-launches-a-new-unified-cross-platform-messaging-service/">Keep reading...</a></p>