Google is constantly tweaking usability features on Gmail, but a new update focuses on fun -- emoji style.
Now, when you compose a Gmail message you'll have an even larger array of whimsical and descriptive emoji to accent your text-based missive.
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Gmail has offered an emoji option for several years, but the expanded number of emoji characters puts the software, which is often used on desktops, more on par with the kind of mobile communications most texters are familiar with.
In addition to the emoji upgrade, Google has also added hundreds of new high-resolution themes to its existing bank of themes that place stuning photography and graphics unobtrusively behind your Gmail interface. The big difference now is that you can edit your theme's background photos.
The editing tools include effects like blur (allowing you to blur a sharp image into an abstract blob), vignette (which puts a faded, black border around your image), and text background (which allows you to change an unsightly white border around your menu text to dark gray).
All the changes are available now, automatically in Gmail, with no download or opt-in necessary.