Whats the impact on Google Gmail Integrating with ...

I never really liked google chat all that much, mostly because most of my friends were on AIM and I had to specifically tell a friend of mine to go on google chat, if I wanted to talk to them there.  I think it makes a lot of sense and it's really cool that two of the biggest and most successful companies are working together, as opposed to competing against each other.  Gmail will be a lot cooler with AIM as a part of it... I hope to see it soon, and use it myself.

Whether you love it or hate it, AIM is still very popular, though primarily in the USA. Couple that with Gmail's popularity, and it could provide a popular alternative to other web-based IM solutions like Meebo. Ultimately, I don't think this will do much to build AIM's user base, but it could give Google Talk a shot in the arm.

There are some screenshots and additional thoughts here.