Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Google has unveiled two new lab features for GMail.  The first is the ability to do a quick Google web search and get results without leaving the GMail window.  The results pop up in the lower right hand corner, similar to Google Chat windows.  If you hover over each item in the result, a clickable arrow shows up giving you the option of e-mailing or instant messaging the search result.  This could be handy when you’re e-mailing or chatting with someone and want them to check out something that you can’t quite remember the web address for.  No more messing around with pesky extra browser tabs or enduring the tedious copying and pasting of links.

The second lab feature new to GMail is on the lighter side.  For your emoting delight, Google has added another 1200 or so emoticons to its library.  I never knew there were so many variations on the smiley face.  On just a quick perusal of the new emoticons, I became a bit overwhelmed by all the blinking, twirling, and . . . sorry, I suddenly felt a bit dizzy just thinking about the dancing little faces.  While I’m sure there are many who will spend twenty minutes picking out just the right little picture, I will stick to the basic yellow-faced stationary icons.

If I could add only one of the new features, I would go with the new quick in—GMail search.  Not only does it somewhat streamline the link-sending process, but I also think most of us are satisfied with the old-school emoticon catalog.  But, if you find yourself feeling constrained by GMail’s original emoticons, then you should definitely check out the new library.

Read: [eWeek]