Are you using Gmail’s new compose? If so, you’ve probably noticed that the emoticon icon does nothing but show a “coming soon” message. Not anymore. Google has rolled out over 1,000 emoticons for Gmails’s new compose, which you can add to your emails by clicking the “Insert emoticon” icon or with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+2.
The complete emoticon collection includes some familiar faces such as Google Talk’s square faces and “secret” animated crab, but if you scroll diligently you’ll find many different types of animated and non-animated faces, food items, animals, weather icons, and pretty much anything you can think of. If you can’t choose just one, holding the Shift button while clicking on emoticons will insert multiple ones into your email.
So how many emoticons are there, exactly? In a lengthy counting project, I counted exactly 1,324 emoticons, which is much more than the mere 150 available on the old compose. To be fair, TheNextWeb counted 1,287 emoticons in total, so according to them there are 37 less icons to enjoy, but no matter how you look at it, this is a huge collection.
If you’re using Google Apps, or if Google’s decided so for some reason, you might not see the emoticons yet. If you still see the “Coming soon” message when hovering over the smiley icon, don’t despair, Gmail’s emoticons will find their way to your account soon enough. At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be a way to disable emoticons in emails, but do let us know if you find one.
Is this good news or bad news for you? Will be using all these new emoticons in your emails, or are you dreading the emails you’re about to receive from now on?
Source: Google+ via TheNextWeb
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I love using smileys in emails to friends and family, so the wealth of emoticon options available now is great. BUT — I don’t like Gmail’s new compose window/screen. I much prefer the old. So now I have a choice to make. Old compose or new compose with more emoticons.
Grrrrrr….. decisions, decisions……
In my experience you get used to it. At first it’s weird and different, and there are some aspects that are better in the old interface, but all in all the new compose it pretty handy, especially if you want to look up something in your emails while composing, which happens to me all the time.
I say switch, hold it for a week. If you still hate it, go back and forget the emoticons. If you get used to it and learn to like it, great! At some point Gmail will force the new compose, I believe. Might as well be prepared. :)
In total there were exactly 1337 (leet) emoticons. I counted 13 per row, multiplied it by the amount of full rows, plus any extra that don’t form a whole row, making the following expression:
13*(6+5+9+8+9+6+4+9+9+9+8+9+8)+1+4+3+10+3+6+1+1+11+1+9
That’s exactly what I did, and I got 1324. :) Funny, we now have three different numbers, which one is right?
That is quite funny. We’re thirteen emoticons (one row) off from each other. In the end what matters most is that we now have over 1300 emoticons to use with Gmail.
I might have missed a row while counting, who knows. Either way, there’s more than enough, like you said. :)
I wonder how many people need such a huge collection of emoticons…
In my opinion, none of us likely need all of them, but all of us will likely use some of them. To put it another way, no one of us need all of them, but all of us need all of them! : )
very cool cons :P
Nice! I love using those cute little things, especially when writing my children and grandchildren.
Now if Gmail will please get a stationary option!
I never know which emoticon to use in what situation, never gotten the hang of it. For example I’ll use a laughing face if I want to tell someone how sorry I am.
I can’t see needing so many of these.I don’t think I will be using them.Still,if people want to use them its fine with me.
This is definitely good news though saddening at the same time. Wish they would add these to Android (I know Jelly Bean has more than previous versions) and Gtalk. Either way it’s nice to see we have more emoticons to play around with.
Hmm just check and the animated emoticons display in my Gmail app on Android though the animation itself does not.
Ohhhh Noes! More emoticons.
Instead of busying yourself with learning emoticons, learn the human language. Too sad it is not a priority for the modern generation. “Hamlet” written in emoticons, anyone? I don’t think so…
That could be a challenge!
1337 Emoticons exactly.. please correct this at post!!!
Thanks Josh, I might have miscounted by one row, but to be honest, I don’t think it makes much of a difference whether it’s 1324 or 1337. :) It’s a lot either way!
Absolutely.. Google may roll out some emoticon’s later, who knows still i can see some space reserved at the end of emoticon’s list :P
if you go to settings -> labs you can enable all these extra emojies to be available on the old compose screen. They have been there for ages!
That’s true, thanks!
Finally I can use emoticons !! But I think that Google could have released a few smileys in the first place and kept adding on later taking user feed-backs into consideration! Thanks Yaara Lancet (for the info)..
Still i wonder why Gmail didn’t care to notify the users that the emoticons have been released and are ready to be used???!
They did, on Google+. :)
ya …but many Gmail users still haven’t upgraded to Google+… Of those who have upgraded to G+ are not much active :( !….In my Opinion an e-mail notification would have been much better option (until Google+ surpasses Facebook in number of active users ..)
If Google started emailing all of us every time they updated Gmail or other services, our inboxes would become clogged with announcements. :)
If you want to keep up, just follow a news blog or some of Google’s own blogs, you won’t miss anything this way.
Not everyone is gaa gaa over Google offerings. I use the latest version of Firefox and do not appreciate the fact that when I try to use many of Google’s features, I am snidely told that I “should upgrade to a modern browser – Chrome”. Pox on that.
Most of the “upgrades” to Google are eye candy and glitz rather than improvements in function. Fifteen years ago WorldNet from AT&T allowed users to sort their e-mails by column headings. GMail still does not have that feature. GMail doesn’t even HAVE column headings.
Posting news of “updates” on Google+ is a strong arm attempt to force users to sign up for it. I got two words for them – NOT TODAY!
Definitely going to use them and i had them for a day but now they are gone. Go figure
After a not too laborious but very careful count, i have exactly 1,337 emoticons available from Gmail. A significant number, as i see it, for more than its sheer size. ;-)