Yes, Google’s Gtalk chat service is down worldwide from 4 PM (IST). You may see Google talk service up and running on Gmail, Google+ or Gtalk app, but chat messages and calls fail to complete. Users aren’t able to send or receive chat messages and calls to/from their contacts. Google is aware of this issue and continuing to investigate on it. Still a Google hasn’t provided a status on when they expect to resolve the problem.
Google is providing hourly status updated through there Google Talk App Status page. In its first message on the status page posted on 4:10 PM Google confirmed the Gtalk issues saying “We’re investigating reports of an issue with Google Talk. We will provide more information shortly“. Soon Google added another status message “We’re aware of a problem with Google Talk affecting a majority of users. The affected users are able to access Google Talk, but are seeing error messages and/or other unexpected behavior. We will provide an update by 7/26/12 5:20 PM detailing when we expect to resolve the problem. Please note that this resolution time is an estimate and may change.”
You can track realtime update on the status of Gtalk and also reaction from normal users by following the Google+ hashtag #GTalk or on Twitter on hashtag #gtalk.
Update: Google just updated the status, “Google Talk service has already been restored for some users, and we expect a resolution for all users in the near future. Please note this time frame is an estimate and may change.” Yes it seems working good for us.
Update: FIXED – “The problem with Google Talk should be resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support. Please rest assured that system reliability is a top priority at Google, and we are making continuous improvements to make our systems better.“