I’m kind of hoping that, somewhere down the line, they integrate Google Voice. Both to whittle down the number of separate communication services, and to force them to add MMS support to Voice.
Google Talk is already implemented into Google+; it’s embedded into the desktop website, for example, and can communicate with people regardless of whether they have G+ or not. Personally, I don’t expect them to force people to get G+ just to be able to talk to people who already do have it, since they haven’t so far.
Not sure about the desktop client for Talk, since they effectively abandoned it a few years back.
People already use Google Hangouts, too… just, the already existing, pre-unified versions. Google Talk (aka Google Chat), Google+, etc. This combines a few different services people are already using.
There are two reasons I won’t switch to Windows Phone or iPhone, at least any time soon. First, personalization. I can make my homescreen looks literally however I want. Second, the apps I’ve already purchased. Even if I was interested in Windows Phone or iPhone, I wouldn’t switch because there are numerous apps that I’ve paid for (some that are not available on the other two systems) that I would no longer be able to use.
Technically, this is a common problem for a lot of companies, going back a few decades when dozens of them started used Helvetica for their logos. (And I think Microsoft’s current logo is in Helvetica as well.) But it makes sense from a design standpoint to have your type as simple, easy-to-read (‘boring’) text with the logo nearby, or integrated into the text without dominating it.
When I first saw the current Bing logo, I thought was looking at the Beats logo. I don’t think the new logo is very impressive, but what they’re trying to do is put all of their services into a unified design aesthetic (similar to what Google has been doing the last year or so with Plus integration), which is a smart move if you want consumers to quickly associate them together just by the style of each logotype.
