The new iGoogle — the good and the bad
Image via CrunchBase
Like a lot of people, I use iGoogle as my home page, and I really depend on it for quick access to all my web “stuff,” like email, my documents, frequently used bookmarks and my calendar.
A new design for iGoogle was recently unveiled, and for the most part, I like it a lot. The tabs are now down the left side of the page instead of across the top, and all the widgets are listed under each tab. I have 3 tabs and a lot of widgets, which I often forget about if they are buried. So this new design keeps all my useful widgets front and center in my mind.
The Gmail widget underwent the most useful changes. Now you can read the first sentence of the email message inside the widget and perform actions like deleting, archiving and marking as read without opening the Inbox.
Click on a widget’s name underneath the tab and in most cases, a full-screen view of the widget opens, without navigating to a new web page. Some of these are incredibly useful, like the full page weather report for the Weather widget, the front page of the New York Times designed to look like a newspaper and a full map for Driving Directions. Of course, the Google widgets have the most integration. Click Gmail to open your Inbox, Calendar to display a monthly calendar view and Reader to read your articles inside your Google page.
This new integration is useful, but a few bugs have popped up that have made me distrustful that everything is working as it should. For example, links in email messages viewed inside iGoogle are not clickable or do not appear. This renders a lot of web mail useless. And the articles just stop displaying in Google Reader after paging down a few times. I have to start all over again to get them to reappear, and then I wonder if I’ve missed something.
Maybe the new iGoogle isn’t quite ready for prime time. But despite these few bugs — and the ones I have yet to discover — it has become a much more useful tool for me. I just hope Google is quick about fixing the bugs.
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shannon.turlington AT gmail.com 
I read about a site today called 43marks.com – its like iGoogle but better cuz you can add you own bookmarks and the bookmarks can be websites not just gadgets and RSS feeds although you can upload your favorite RSS feeds too. Its free and totally customizable. Plus you don’t have to login to see your bookmarks and RSS feeds cuz they give you a unique URL just type that in to any computer and you have your bookmarks without having to login – Just one less step for me to access my bookmarks
PLEASE BRING THE TABS BACK TO THE TOP!
They waste screen space on the side!
PLEASE!
I woke up to find my nicely designed homepage a disaster! I use(d) about 10 tabs all filled with gadgets (home, medical, reference, gov’t info) and could get to any sub-menu with one click. NOW, my tabs have been stripped and moved to a “frame” on the left. I used to show people how I could get to my info in two clicks. NOW, I have to scroll to see my tabs. NOT GOOD!
I would like the option to go BACK to the tab version and have a choice if I want the left-hand box.
Google, not a good move. Any other surprises coming?
I just started using iGoogle because my “My Way” homepage lost too many features I liked. The new layout with the tabs moved to a column on the left will force me to try and find a new homepage. There’s a reason people like tabs. They save space but allow quick access to more content. I just can’t see how a web page designer could think this is an improvement. Please explain your reasoning. Perhaps I can be swayed.
Wow, a lot of comments on this one. Well, from a usability standpoint, the new iGoogle works (mostly) for me, but I can see that it doesn’t work for everyone. It seems like Google should offer a choice to users on where to position their tabs, and make everyone happy.
OK… It seems to be getting better.
But please give us the option to use side or top tabs AND
… AND PLEASE GIVE BACK THE WHOLE LEFT SIDE OF OUR HOMSPAGE SCREENS !
Actually that side bar is a real pain. I don’t want to see what is on each tab. They are organized to subject for me and if I want News I click news. Now.. Well If I can figure out how to delete my Igoogle without the delete of my gmail, They are totally gone. As it is I had to strip it down to one page and delete all widgets to get rid of the mess.
The good. I actually had to try Netvibes and actually like it better. And the tabs are on the top where they should be and I do NOT have an annoying bar on the side.
Google is gone for me because it no longer functions as I need it to.
How can I turn off the stupid side tabs and put them back on top? this is a very microsoft like move stuff unpopular changes down the throats of users
I have used and loved iGoogle ( google.com/ig )since it came out, but can not stand the new version. In the mean time (until Google comes to their senses or until it is rolled out in Canada also [at which time I would find another service]) I am using http://www.google.ca/ig
Yes! It looks like iGoogle.com is supposed to! There is an extra link at the top for Canada type stuff, but other than that, once you log in, everything is back where it should be.
Although I understand that this is the price we pay for having a great free service, but if the service is no longer great… SeeYa!
I am among those who would either like my old igoogle page back, or at least an option to recreate it. I had my page to simple and uncluttered, the tabs on the side really are a pain when I move between several computers of various resolutions. and I Really Really want the old gmail applet back, it told me how many messages I had unread, Thats all I wanted it for. I dislike having my messages open to where anybody walking behind me can see who is emailing, and get an idea of what the subject is about.
I’m all for progress but the new iGoogle feels like a step backwards. My main problems are…
Duplication – the new side tab menues just duplicate the info on the main page. This is just a waste of screen space and gives iGoogle a more conufusing appearance. And what’s makes this more annoying is the fact that some of the gadgets don’t appear on the side tabs. V messy.
Gmail gadget usability – the new gmail previews just don’t look right. I can’t tell the difference between read and unread email. And it just doesn’t look as pretty as the old verion.
Side tab clicking – I have problems clicking on the tab title; i get a text cursor rather than a pointer cursor. Just feels like an amateur website mistake.
So overall, I fail to see any improvements in the new iGoogle so the powers-that-be should definetly have a rethink and bring back the old iGoogle in the meantime.
Thanks for all the comments, even if they do disagree with me. You’ve all given me a lot to think about, not only the new iGoogle, but also how Google responds to customer feedback.
can’t move gadgets around…!
New iGoogle layout is awful. Please give the option to return to top of page tabs. the new left-nav 1) takes up too much room, 2) is awkward and slow. Ick.
While I don’t like the new layout, I think that the big issue with google is the lack of support. It’s time they allow you to change your primary e-mail address and offer e-mail support to fix items from time to time. Even if they point you to the forums where you can get help.
The “new” iGoogle page is absolutely awful ! I have moved.
I prefer http://www.toadtastic.com. It looks like Google but you get a random funny pic every time you refresh the page. It’s great.