Just ahead of Facebook's f8 Conference, Google has announced nine new features for Google Plus, and there are some doozies. First of all, the social network is now open to the public. No sign-up required. Just go to google.com/+ and join the party. For the past 12 weeks, the network has been in "field trial" mode, but Senior Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra says that it is now "ready to move from field trial to beta." Open sign-ups is touted as the 100th feature of Google Plus.
Hangouts - the video chat feature - have come to mobile, currently supporting Android 2.3+ devices, and iOS support is "coming soon." Hangouts also now have an "On Air" feature, which allows any Google Plus user to tune in and watch. Furthermore, Hangouts now offer screensharing, a shared sketchpad, and names for Hangouts. But perhaps the killer app is Google Docs in Hangouts, which will open up the possibility of live collaborative work (especially once Google Apps accounts get access).
