Gmail is one of the most widely used emailing services of today. Just a few days ago, Google had announced a multiple user sign-in feature for GMail and other services. So when the developers at Google decide to make small changes relating to its interface and contacts, it affects millions of Gmail users around the globe.

Even though the basic screen looks almost the same as it used to, Google hasn’t put in any new options – the engineers and designers have made minor tweaks here and there. The most noticeable change being the much used left-hand column now features Mail, Contacts and Tasks in a seperate pane of their own at the top. Compose mail, the only distinct link among the others is now a button, which has been moved down. The header size has been decreased, giving more space for the message part (about 16 pixels). Another change is the selection of messages (All, None, Read, etc) has been moved to a drop-down. The overall colour-scheme has also been revamped, giving it more of a web-app like polish.

Check out what’s NEW !!
* Mail, Contacts, and Tasks links have moved to the top left of Gmail.
* Compose mail is now a button rather than a link.
* A smaller header area puts the first message in your inbox about 16 pixels higher on the screen.
* The Select All, None, Read, Unread, and Starred links that used to be above your messages are now options in a drop-down menu, next to the Archive button.

Contact management made Easier !!
* Contacts work a lot more like Mail. Keyboard shortcuts now work in Contacts too, and we’ve made selecting and grouping contacts more like selecting and labeling email.
* Sort contacts by last name. Look under More actions for this option.
* Use custom labels for phone numbers and other fields. For example, you can label a phone number as “Vacation home.” Please be aware, ActiveSync for iPhone and Blackberry Sync don’t yet support custom labels so custom labeled numbers/emails/etc. may not appear on your phone.
* Undo. Now, when you make changes to your contacts, you can undo your recent changes.
* Automatic saving. You no longer need to worry about “edit” mode or “view” mode — just edit away and Gmail will save your changes.
* Structured name fields. You can now set name components (i.e. Title, First, Middle, Last and Suffix) explicitly or continue to use the name field as a free form area if you prefer a less structured approach.
* Manual and bulk contact merge. You can now merge contacts from the More actions menu. Just select the contacts you’d like to merge and select Merge contacts from under the More actions menu. Or, to get a list of suggestions for contacts to merge, select Find and merge duplicates.