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Google Hangouts (Classic) vs. Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Google Hangouts (Classic)

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/AThe classic version of Google Hangouts included messaging, voice, VoIP, and video call capabilities. It was replaced by the Hangouts Chat collaboration tool, and Google continues to support conferencing via the new Hangouts Meet.N/A

    Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio

    Score8.8 out of 10
    N/APolycom RealPresence Immersive Studio is a video conferencing and collaboration solution designed to facilitate a lifelike, across-the-table experience.N/A
    Pricing
    Google Hangouts (Classic)Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Google Hangouts (Classic)Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Google Hangouts (Classic)Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
    Considered Both Products
    Discontinued Products
    No answer on this topic
    Poly
    Chose Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
    Polycom RealPresence is really only the preferred teleconferencing solution when using a purpose built room for a scheduled face to face meeting. For ad hoc video meetings, Hangouts, Skype, and Slack all provide fewer friction points for average use cases. In fact, as Google …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    83%
    Would buy again
    44 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    46 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    89%
    Happy with the feature set
    47 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    91%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    31 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    41 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Google Hangouts (Classic)Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
    Cloud PBX
    Comparison of Cloud PBX features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
    Feature
    Google Hangouts (Classic)
    6.3
    57 Ratings
    23% below category average
    Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
    -
    Ratings
    Hosted PBX6.915 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)7.725 Ratings00 Ratings
    User templates5.022 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call reports9.034 Ratings00 Ratings
    Directory of employee names3.045 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call Management
    Comparison of Call Management features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
    Feature
    Google Hangouts (Classic)
    8.0
    66 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
    -
    Ratings
    Answering rules8.033 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call recording7.937 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call park7.018 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call screening9.036 Ratings00 Ratings
    Message alerts8.058 Ratings00 Ratings
    VoIP system collaboration
    Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
    Feature
    Google Hangouts (Classic)
    8.6
    84 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
    -
    Ratings
    Video conferencing9.079 Ratings00 Ratings
    Audio conferencing9.079 Ratings00 Ratings
    Video screen sharing7.148 Ratings00 Ratings
    Instant messaging9.052 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile apps
    Comparison of Mobile apps features of Google Hangouts (Classic) and Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
    Feature
    Google Hangouts (Classic)
    8.0
    85 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
    -
    Ratings
    Mobile app for iOS8.173 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile app for Android8.071 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Google Hangouts (Classic)Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
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    Score9.7 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Fuze
    Score8.2 out of 10
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    Score8.6 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
    Score8.3 out of 10
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    Score9.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Google Hangouts (Classic)Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (91 ratings)
    9.5
    (5 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (7 ratings)
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.0
    (36 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Google Hangouts (Classic)Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Discontinued Products
    Had I completed this review a couple years ago, I would have given a rating of 9 or 10 as Hangouts (Classic) is an excellent product. However, now that Google Chat has succeeded Hangouts, I would not recommend that any new users begin using it where other more modern options are available. Android users who want an internet based instant messaging that also supports calling and video calling could benefit from using Hangouts (Classic) as Google Chat requires the user to also have Google Meet installed to make video calls and there is no voice only calling option.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Poly
    I find Polycom RealPresence to be useful when having one on one conversations in purpose built rooms for video conferencing. That is where the quality of the product shines. However, I dislike using Polycom Real Presence for any sort of content sharing because of the issues around resolution.If I need to share content of any kind, I prefer to use other teleconferencing solutions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Discontinued Products
    • Google Hangouts (Classic) is embedded within Gmail's scheduler, so setting up the link is as quick as a click of the button. It's a one-step process.
    • Google Hangouts (Classic) is user-friendly and [has] features to share screens easily.
    • Google Hangouts (Classic) is much easier to use than its competitors.
    • Google Hangouts (Classic) have [a] good connection time and there are few glitches.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Poly
    • Allows video conferencing with eagle eye view on the speaker
    • Crystal clear audio and video with zero lagging and freezing
    • Very fast connections to the conferences
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Discontinued Products
    • I would like to see improved video support, so that saved videos can be sent back and forth via Hangouts more easily, without having to start a separate meet chat
    • More pronounced notifications of messages would be helpful; pop up notifications are good, but once there is one, additional messages do not pop up
    • Custom muting times would be great, so that if I am in a 90 minute Zoom meeting, I can set it for that time; right now, it is 1 hour or 2 hours. Easy to forget.
    Incentivized
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    Poly
    • Back end setup isn't very intuitive.
    • Every now and then we get a delay when conferencing and using multiple features.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Discontinued Products
    The tool is almost self-implemented. It is likely to be available in every pc or mobile device a user or potential user might have, and all you need to do is adding the company's account and you are done. Once you are setted up, you have almost all actual communication methods available in one tool
    Incentivized
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    Poly
    It is fairly easy to set up and use both for the administrator and the end user.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Discontinued Products
    Google Hangouts works great and does not require a lot of work to troubleshoot. Everything is simple and easy to use. Google provides all of the tools that one requires to utilize Google Hangouts and any information can be found in the built-in help tools. There is also a forum for users to report issues and typically, Google responds well and will try to work out any issues.
    Incentivized
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    Poly
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Discontinued Products
    Google is the white cotton socks of the conferencing world. It’s a great ad-hoc tool, but not too much more. If you are not looking to spend money or operate completely on WiFi (without data charges), it’s a great free option as well. The benefit of being free and open is also the liability. It doesn’t have a great integration story with other corporate tools, but [it doesn’t have to] if you aren’t looking for that. All in all, it’s as helpful and ubiquitous as a public payphone…without the pay…and with a video capability.
    Incentivized
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    Poly
    Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio is well established and is 10 years ahead of the current market. On doing my research I was amazed at the fact that Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio has been trusted for years and used by astronauts, that's one feet no product can take away from Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio as it takes on to show high quality and required support to reach that far.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Discontinued Products
    • I believe it was part of the google suite that was purchased. It was worth the cost as it was cheaper. I believe it is now free, but also becoming deprecated. It is much better to use Teams, Discord, Telegram, etc. Google does not provide enough support or features to make using hangouts worth it these days.
    Incentivized
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    Poly
    • Frustrated user base - issues almost every week with the systems.
    • Successfully reduced travel costs - when it works. For quick one-off meetings, Polycom RealPresence makes for easy face to face communications. However, for more serious conversations, travel is preferred.
    • Lack of integration into other tools. Polycom Realpresence is an entirely separate product from all of our other communications tools and does not provide an easy point of integration to hop into a video conference. As a result, using Polycom RealPresence is always a planned activity, never ad hoc.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots