Google may've said during Wednesday's keynote that it planned to roll out Hangouts to Gmail users gradually, but if you just can't wait to integrate the new messaging service into your e-mail dashboard, there's a way to gain early access. Simply log into Gmail, ensure you've signed into Google Talk (if you're having trouble enabling Talk, try installing the browser plugin), click on the thumbnail associated with your account in the Talk sidebar, and select the "Try the new Hangouts" option.
If you don't see the option right now, you can trick Gmail into giving up the goods by clearing your cache and cookies.
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Here's How To Enable The New Hangouts In Gmail, But Only If You're Ready To Lose Phone Dialing was written by the awesome team at Android Police.