I talked the other day about some great iGoogle gadgets to make iGoogle worth using. However, iGoogle’s not the only service with great gadget integration- Gmail’s recently rolled out gadget support makes it an even more killer application, and has made it the only webpage I have open all day.

In Gmail, if you click the “Labs” tab in your Settings page, you’ll be presented with a bunch of options- including gadgets. There are some included, as well as a way to “add gadget by URL.”

There are some great ones to add, and here are some of the best few:

Google Calendar This is one of the gadgets already put into the Labs feature of Gmail. Using GCal, you can see your calendar right in your Gmail, as well as add new tasks and view the details for all your appointments. To add this one, go to “Labs,” scroll down to “Google Calendar Gadget,” and select “enable.” Then save, and return to Gmail.

Google Docs Another already-included gadget, Google Docs lets you view your Documents right in Gmail. You can see your recent documents, or one’s you’ve starred, as well as do a search within your documents. My favorite feature, though, is that you can drag and drop documents into Gmail right from the gadget. To add this one, follow the same steps as with GCal, except with “Google Docs Gadget”, and you’re all set

Remember the Milk Having my tasks available in my email has always been crucial for me- I used RTM for Gmail for a long time, but this is even better. It’s easy to add tasks, edit them, complete and postpone them, all without leaving Gmail. This is the gadget I use the most, and it’s the biggest reason I never leave Gmail. To install: In “Labs,” enable the “Add any gadget by URL” gadget, and then go back to Gmail. Still in settings, click the “Gadgets” tab; you’ll see a box allowing you to paste a URL. Copy and paste this:

http://www.rememberthemilk.com/services/modules/gmail/rtm.xml

Then, refresh Gmail, and your RTM should be waiting for you!

Bit.ly Getting long URLS in an email is a pain, but so is shortening them to send in emails. With the Bit.ly gadget, from URL shortener bit.ly, you can shorten links right from your Gmail, and then put them into your email. Adding this one’s like the RTM gadget: in “Gadgets,” add this URL:

http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/107368512201818821991/bitly-shortener.xml

Refresh your Gmail, and you’re set to shorten your URLs in one click!

There’s no need to ever be separated from Gmail again, since it can act as your whole information system, all in one place. Gmail gadgets are only going to improve, and they’re making Gmail the real place to be online.