Google promises Wave for Apps, eventually

Angus Kidman
Wednesday, 20 January 2010 10:48

IT Industry - Development

More than a million people are testing Google's Wave collaboration platform, but customers who actually pay to use Google's other services have been left out. How quickly will Google fix that problem?


To try out Wave, which has been the subject of continuous hype and speculation since being announced in June last year then opened up for beta testers in September , users need a Google account, which can be acquired for free.

However, those users who pay to use the enhanced Google Apps For Your Domain service -- which lets users use services such as Gmail and Google Docs while retaining their own domain -- can't link that account into Wave, creating the unusual situation where paid customers are offered a lesser service than those who aren't paying anything.

Google Wave product manager Dan Peterson says that the issue will be resolved eventually, but Apps customers shouldn't hold their breath.

"We are very slowly testing it with some apps domains," Peterson said during a mini-conference on Wave held as part of linux.conf.au 2010 in Wellington.

"There's no specific plans on exactly when it roll out but it will."

One major issue with making the service available is the need to develop appropriate documentation, a difficult task while the platform itself is evolving so quickly.

Paying customers expect a higher level of documentation and support than early adopters who are often willing to put up with incomplete or non-existent material, Google developer relations team member Pamela Fox pointed out.