SMS integration coming to Google+ Hangouts

A Googler takes to Google+ to say that texting via Hangouts is coming soon. But will it help Hangouts pull in a wider audience?

The new Google+ Hangouts was introduced at Google I/O this week.

This week at Google I/O, Google announced it's beefing up Google+ Hangouts by introducing a one-on-one chat feature, access to chat history, and a standalone app. But how about adding some real red meat, like say, SMS integration?
Never fear, hardcore messaging carnivores -- it's on the way.
So says Dori Storbeck, community manager for Google+ Hangouts & Chat, responding to a question on her Google+ page:

...SMS integration is coming soon -- it is one of our most requested features!

No word on how soon we might be able to send texts from within the Hangouts app, but it would put Google in even more direct competition with Facebook, which has been aiming to replace conventional texting with its Messenger app and recently introduced Facebook Home and chatheads for Android.
Hangouts has struggled to gain mainstream traction, though. It remains to be seen if adding SMS capability could be the kind of feature that opens the communications tool to a wider audience -- or if it's more like adding yet another headliner to a music festival in North Dakota in January: No matter how great the lineup, it's just further than most people are willing to go for something they can get closer to (Facebook?) Home.