Google has announced today that its ‘Helpouts’ service for sharing and seeking advice on everyday challenges is shutting down on April 20th, 2015. We told you earlier today that the Helpouts mobile apps for iOS and Android were pulled from their respective stores, and it looks like Helpouts as a whole is now getting the boot as well.
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Google has today pulled the mobile apps for its Helpouts service from the Play Store and the App Store (via TechCrunch), less than a year after they launched. The service, which allows you to offer on-demand real help to others in live time for a price (or for free), is seemingly no longer available on mobile despite the fact that the apps only launched in April of 2014.
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Google has added yet another app to its collection of iPhone apps today. This time it’s Google Helpouts, which connects users over its Hangouts service to experts knowledgeable in a specific subject for tutoring. Google’s Helpouts service first launched last fall.
Google on what Hangouts has to offer:
What you can do on the iOS app
Find and schedule a Helpout
Start a free Helpout
Give a free Helpout
Read reviews and listing details
Send a message
Report abuse
Leave a review
Change your settings
Receive text-message and mobile reminders
Google notes that Helpouts for iPhone does not support creating new listings for topics; that feature is currently limited to the Helpouts website.
Google Helpouts for iPhone is available for free on the App Store.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-VFC9AQM1k]
As we reported previously, Google has just publicly launched a new platform for getting real-time help with any problem you might be facing. Helpouts is a new video chat service that lets you talk one-on-one with experts in a variety of fields such as art, fashion, healthcare, and gardening.
Some of the Helpouts are free while others will cost per session or per minute, depending on the topic and the expert. The chats are powered by Hangouts, but only involve two parties—you and your instructor. The instructors can set times that they are available for a Helpout, and users can book a session in advance. Instructors credentials, certifications, and experience are listed right on the booking page and users can leave reviews of their sessions.
It appears Google will at least partly be allowing providers on Helpouts manage their own experts. For example, TakeLessons, one of Google’s partners providing music lessons on Helpouts explained out it will offer services by tapping into the experts already using its own service:
According to a new report from TechCrunch, Google is in the midst of testing a new e-commerece service that would allow users to buy and sell services via video. The service is reportedly dubbed “Helpouts” and has been in testing within the company since June, with a public release not happening for at least another month.
The service would obviously be based heavily on Google’s Hangout video chats. The services could be started instantaneously or planned as classes. As an example, TechCrunch suggests that a Spanish tutor from Argentina could offer to train other users in the language for a fee, or that a Yoga instructor could provide classes to stay-at-home moms. Users would be able to create a Helpout profile and build a reputation over time.
