By
References to Google’s much-rumoured new chat service, Babel, have been found inside Gmail’s source code, suggesting a launch on multiple platforms is imminent.
According to a report from the Google OS blog, a description found inside Gmail’s HTML code suggests that the service will run on a number of platforms, including iOS and Android, and feature Hipchat-like group messaging and more.
The source code description reads:
Upgrade Chat to Babel! Babel is Google’s new messenger with clients for Android, iOS, Chrome, Google+ and Gmail. Access the same conversation list from anywhere!
The service is expected to unify Google’s current chat services which spans across Google Talk, Gmail Chat and Google+ Messenger. Its launch on iOS, though, positions it as a possible iMessage competitor with the added bonus of being cross-platform and available through any browser.
Previous speculation pencilled in the launch of Babel around the same time as this year’s Google I/O event in May.
