AniEmoticons Add Cute Animated Touches to Outgoing Emails and Texts

Since we first started using emails and texts to communicate with our friends, families, and co-workers, we’ve had one very basic problem. No matter how hard we try, we can’t seem to relay tone with 100% efficiency. How many times have you sent an email or a text, only to have to clarify that you weren’t trying to be sarcastic or mean?

That’s why despite their cartoonish look, sending emoticons in your texts and emails is sometimes necessary. And that just might make AniEmoticons an app worth having in your communications arsenal.

The sheer number of emoticons you get for 99 cents is pretty impressive. Pick from any one of the many categories, and you’ll get at least 2 pages of options. Love 3D Smileys? There are 7 pages of the goofy little guys, expressing everything from lovelorn adoration to extreme nausea to the little guy who holds a sign reminding you that you should be happy because it’s Friday.

There’s totally kawaii bears and pandas, anime-style girls, and even Hello Kitty icons. Cows, poop, fish, monkeys, sunflowers,  anthropomorphic food, and something called “Milky Boy,” which we gather is meant to look like a drop of milk but looks a bit like an unrolled condom. Pages of pages of hearts and I Love You icons, and all kinds of animated emoticons that are just for fun.

True, these cutesy icons aren’t for everyone: we imagine teenagers and women are the predominant buyers. And to be honest, the interface is fairly clunky. And if you want to send more than one icon at a time, you can only use the email option: the MMS option only allows you to pick one icon at a time.

Still, despite its flaws, AniEmoticons does what it set out to do: provide cute animated icons to perk up your communiques.

AniEmoticons (iTunes Link) is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later. A small expedite fee was paid by the developer to speed up the publication of this review.