Google Hangouts (Classic) vs. Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Hangouts (Classic)
Score 7.6 out of 10
N/A
The classic version of Google Hangouts is a communication platform that includes messaging, voice, VoIP, and video call capabilities. It was part of Google’s G Suite offering and integrated with applications such as Gmail and Google+. Users of the classic version of Hangouts will be migrated to the new Hangouts Chat collaboration tool, and Google continues to support conferencing via the new Hangouts Meet.N/A
Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Polycom 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
Google Hangouts (Classic)

No answer on this topic

Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
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 …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Google Hangouts (Classic)Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
Cloud PBX
Comparison of Cloud PBX features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
6.5
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 templates5.422 Ratings00 Ratings
Call reports9.034 Ratings00 Ratings
Directory of employee names3.345 Ratings00 Ratings
Call Management
Comparison of Call Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
7.9
66 Ratings
7% below category average
Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
-
Ratings
Answering rules8.033 Ratings00 Ratings
Call recording7.437 Ratings00 Ratings
Call park7.018 Ratings00 Ratings
Call screening9.036 Ratings00 Ratings
Message alerts8.158 Ratings00 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
9.0
84 Ratings
8% above category average
Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
-
Ratings
Video conferencing9.379 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio conferencing9.379 Ratings00 Ratings
Video screen sharing8.048 Ratings00 Ratings
Instant messaging9.352 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile apps
Comparison of Mobile apps features of Product A and Product B
Google Hangouts (Classic)
8.4
85 Ratings
1% above category average
Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
-
Ratings
Mobile app for iOS8.773 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile app for Android8.271 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google Hangouts (Classic)Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
Small Businesses
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 9.5 out of 10
Zoom
Zoom
Score 8.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 9.5 out of 10
Cisco Webex DX80 (discontinued)
Cisco Webex DX80 (discontinued)
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Cisco Webex DX80 (discontinued)
Cisco Webex DX80 (discontinued)
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google Hangouts (Classic)Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
Likelihood to Recommend
7.9
(91 ratings)
5.0
(3 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(36 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google Hangouts (Classic)Polycom RealPresence Immersive Studio
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
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.
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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.
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Pros
Google
  • 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.
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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
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Cons
Google
  • 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.
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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.
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Usability
Google
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
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Poly
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Google
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.
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Poly
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Google
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.
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Poly
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 accounts are nearly ubiquitous at this point, Hangouts has almost become the de facto standard for ad hoc video conferencing amongst our users.
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Return on Investment
Google
  • 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.
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Poly
  • Personally we have not gotten our money's worth, but this is not Polycom's fault, it is because users found it difficult to use.
  • As for me personally, I used it for video conferencing, but my job was to make sure that it was operational for video conferencing.
  • As stated earlier, even though I found it very easy to use, my users did not, and as such tended to video conference with other apps.
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ScreenShots