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Gmail Bolsters Emoticon Offering

Chris Crum — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:05:51 +0000

Back in October, Google added a number of new emoticons for Gmail in a Gmail Lab. That round even went so far as to include a pile of feces complete with flies buzzing around it. I wish I was making this up.

Somehow, with all of the emoticons offered, while a pile of poop made it onto the roster, there were other more conventional ones left off. The wine glass, the cat, and the bunny for example were all MIA.

Now, Gmail has offered a new lab under the title "Extra Emoji," which offers a whole slew of emoticons.

Now next time you need to illustrate a slice of bread, and just don’t have the words for it, this lab has you covered. The same goes for a piece of hard candy. The icing on the cake is that there are now two different crab emoticons to choose from!

Realistically, I question what scenarios call for someone to even consider looking for an emoticon representing a slice of bread, but somebody evidently thought there was a void to be filled there. Gmail isn’t taking credit for the creation of the new emoticons. They are all from "the secret underground labs of some of the top Japanese mobile carriers" according to software engineer Darren Lewis. They are used with permission.

Just remember you have to turn the lab on to get all of this wonderful emoticon action.

Catch a Whiff of Google’s Latest Gmail Offering

Chris Crum — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:30:00 +0000

Google has added a number of new emoticons for Gmail. You know, smilies. But that’s not all there is. Let’s just cut to the chase. There’s an animated pile of feces.

I rarely resort to fourth grade humor in my articles, but Google leaves me no choice here. You can’t put a picture of poop in a Google offering and not expect some commentary. The Gmail team offers the following suggestions: "No more will you have to settle for a when you can have a. Out with the "XOXO" and in with the. And of course, when the bad news smells really bad, transcends all words."

It’s better than sending the real thing I guess. You might be able to get away with it without having charges brought against you.

Ok, not that we’ve cleared the air of Google’s pile, note that there are plenty of other emoticon options to choose from. Like a crab, a flower, and a martini glass. Perhaps that last one should direct users to mail goggles when selected.

Apart from the release of Gmail 2.0 for mobile, other recent features added to Gmail via Gmail Labs include: canned replies, mail goggles, a "marked as read" button, and a "Forgotten Attachment Detector". Google has also expanded the number of emoticons for GTalk, although there are many more for Gmail.