Many of you will have heard of the iGoogle Web portal that was formerly Google’s Personalized Homepage and was launched back in 2005. You may also have heard that the iGoogle service is set to end on November 1, 2013. It seems that Chrome and Android are just a couple of reasons as to why iGoogle is no longer necessary and we wonder what our readers feel could replace iGoogle as an alternative.

Web portals were very much in vogue at one time enabling the user to access their most important Web applications, sites and more from one page. Like many things in the tech world though, the initial excitement died down but despite that there are many people who still enjoy having their own home page for the Internet, in the form of iGoogle, and find it extremely useful. It seems to us then that iGoogle is likely to be missed and we wonder if Google has thought this through properly.

A report on ZDNet tells how Google’s stance on this is that, “With modern apps that run on platforms like Chrome and Android, the need for something like iGoogle has eroded over time.” Google goes on to give the closure date of November 1 next year and points out that they are giving iGoogle users 16 months to basically get used to the idea or export their data. However Steven Vaughan-Nichols of ZDNet puts the argument for keeping iGoogle very clearly by saying, “Yes, I could use Web and mobile apps to get what I want. Yes, I know my data will be safe on Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Finance, Google Docs (now Google Drive),Google Bookmarks, and Google Task. So what! I want a single Web page where I can find all of them with no fuss or muss. In short, I want iGoogle.” We feel this is likely to reflect the views of many iGoogle users.

It does seem a shame that just because something is no longer the biggest thing since sliced bread it is judged to be surplus to requirements, especially when it’s something that still works so well. Indeed a petition has now been set up asking Google not to kill off iGoogle and if you want to sign the petition hit here. If the move to close iGoogle goes ahead though we’d like to hear from you about what you think could fill the gap? Send your comments to give us your thoughts on this.