Bloggers pencil in Google Calendar

Web pundits have been busy this morning testing out the new Google Calendar, and the reviews so far appear relatively favorable.

The beta version, which is linked to e-mail but can be accessed without at Gmail account, lets users search for and add events within the program or through Web sites that use open standards for calendars. It's sure to heat up competition with others in the calendar biz, such as Yahoo and Microsoft, both of which have upgrades in the works to their products.

There's much enthusiasm out there for Google Calendar, which many see as slick and easy to use. Of course they're reserving absolute judgment, noting that time well tell. Not surprisingly, privacy concerns about the service already abound.

Blog community response:

"So how long until Google Calendar offers ads based on our plans? There's a handy search feature built into the product, after all..."
--Latitude

"My overall impression: Excellent. The ability to share via web publishing or RSS shows Google's commitment to an open standard. And this application is impressive in its speed and stability."
--TechCrunch

"Google Calendar has launched. It looks like another win for the Google team. Very easy to use with some nice options such as importing and reminders. Within a couple of minutes you can have a calendar setup and running...Time is the indicator of success."
[e-mail]

"Now, I don't want to go on a random walk, but it's time we called a spade a spade. Google is a portal, plain and simple...It's a version 2.0 portal, but it's a portal. Now, is this a bad thing? Well, depends on your point of view. I think this is inevitable, and the next phase will be about traction with these new services. You don't have to use Calendar, or Mail, but when you type 'GOOG' or 'YHOO' into the simple interface of Google these days, your first choice is now a Google page, not someone else's. That's a fundamental change, worth noting."
--John Battelle's Searchblog