More cosmetic delights for Gmail: themes
Google says it aims Gmail at the technological elite, knowing that the information overload problems they have today will be the problems mainstream users have tomorrow. But apparently the company isn't above appealing to those who are willing to judge a book by its cover as well as its content.
On Wednesday, Google launched themes for Gmail, a feature that lets people customize the appearance of the Webmail application with a variety of new looks. Google is gradually rolling out the new feature to Gmail members "over the next couple of days," said Gmail team member Annie Chen.
It's something of a departure for a site that prides itself on its utilitarian nature--even the addition of graphical smileys to Gmail can be justified as improving a message's emotional nuance. But given Google's move toward the mainstream, it's smart. People like to personalize their frequently-used computing tools.
Perhaps more interesting from a brand perspective, Google is even willing to give up the Gmail logo in some of the skins. That suits me fine--I find the logo an eye-trippingly ugly hodgepodge of the Google G, a graphical envelope for the "m", and three sans-serif letters for "ail."
Now showing: Gmail themes.
(Credit: Google)
Stephen Shankland covers Google, Yahoo, search, online advertising, portals, digital photography, and related subjects. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered servers, supercomputing, open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen.
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Wow, I'm the first poster.......woot!
having this same option in Gmail Calendar? It's a good start...
http://www.iwebie.com/gmail-themes
GO GOOGLE!
I'm using pebbles!
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November 22, 2008 5:58 AM PST
- Google ruined my iGoogle experience to the point that my home page has since been my Gmail inbox. Now, they want to ruin that for me as well. Why can't they just acknowledge some people just don't want this clutter.
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