DigitalSandbox

I know that there has been a bit a backlash against the the new iGoogle layout. But I want to go on record here and say that I am really liking it. I like the “tabs” on the side, but for me the killer design feature is the full screen mode for individual widgets. This new mode has allowed me to eliminate several tabs from my normal browser window, and sped up my launch to usable time. Allow me to explain how this new layout can be a good thing.

Prior to the change, I used to keep tabs open in my main browser window for a wide collection of Google apps. I had one for Gmail, one for Google News, one for Google Reader, one for iGoogle, and several more. I had a total of 6 tabs open at any given time for Google stuff. With the new layout I have consolidated those six tabs (plus an extra one for Google Docs that I would open on occasion) into one tab, the iGoogle tab.

This was made possible by one major innovation of the new layout — the full screen widget. I don’t know if people are aware of this, but when you select a particular widget from the list under the tab title, you get only that widget in a full screen mode. For most widgets this doesn’t do much more than show them as if they were in a single column and alone on the tab. But for most of Google’s widgets it opens up the app (or something very similar to it) inside the iGoogle page.

That means that when I select the Gmail widget I get more than just the list of Inbox items the widget usually provides. I get a slightly stripped down version of Gmail. It allows me to view the contents of various folders, compose and read email, and a few other common Gmail tasks. About the only feature not available that I miss is the ability to add labels to emails.

The Google Reader widget shows the newest items (or all items, if that option is selected) from my feed list. I don’t get to select particular feeds or manage my subscriptions, but the basic meat of the app is there. And since 99.9% of the time I go to Google Reader it is to check for new items and read them, I am more than happy with level of functionality.

And the list goes on for the other Google apps. So far, my only real complaint is with Google Calendar as it only allows you to view the calendar. You have to launch the full app to add or edit events. But that is not really a deal breaker for me, and I have hope that one day I will switch to the Calendar widget and see that functionality added.

So before you completely write off the new layout, you might want to reconsider. These new features have really made a difference in my browsing habits and has helped me clean out a lot of my common tabs. I hope they don’t get rid of this mode just because the initial response has been less than favorable.