App that only lets you communicate using EMOJIS launches - and even the usernames are made up of emoticons
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Love them or hate them, emoticons are slowly creeping into more apps, social networks and websites.
But, not content with using emojis as an addition to your everyday digital conversations, the Emojli app wants to make all your conversations entirely picture based.
The London-based app only lets users communicate using the popular miniature images - and even usernames have to be comprised of a selection of emoticons.
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The Emojli app (pictured) only lets users communicate using emojis. Even usernames have to be comprised of a selection of emoticons. The app is available, for free, from the Apple App Store. The company has not announced plans to launch it on other platforms
THE RISE OF EMOJI
A study in April found that the top trending word of the year, at that time, was emoji – the small digital images used to express an idea or emotion in electronic communication - which are continuing to spread like wildfire online.
The words and phrases were plucked from among millions used online in social media, blogs and global media.
Other terms to make the list include 'futebol', and 'ghost plane' - relating to the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.
The app's developers, Matt Gray and Tom Scott, unveiled their plans for Emojli in July, and more than 10,000 people registered their interest.
The app is now available, for free, from the Apple App Store.
In an introduction video, Mr Gray and Mr Scott said: 'We know what you're thinking.
'This is satire, no one would actually make this thing. It's not. And we have.'
The app has the same blue and white colour scheme as Facebook.
It has an inbox, settings, and a friend request page.
Currently, users can only search for friends using their username, and it doesn't let people find friends via emails, for example.
Mr Gray and Mr Scott said they created the app after being inspired by Yo, which allows users to simply send the word Yo.
'The two of us had the idea at about the same time - we weren't sold on it until we realized that usernames should be emoji too,' Gray said.
'At that point, we burst out laughing and realised we had to build it.'
Earlier this year it was revealed Apple is working to expand the diversity of the hugely popular emoji characters (pictured) for the iPhone. Following complaints the current character set was not diverse enough, the firm said it was working with the standards body that controls them
Earlier this year it was revealed Apple is working to expand the diversity of the hugely popular emoji characters for the iPhone.
Following complaints the current character set was not diverse enough, the firm said it was working with the standards body that controls them.
Because emoji have to be displayed on different devices, they are tightly controlled by the Unicode Consortium.
Since 2010 a basic list has been developed and maintained by the Unicode Consortium - a Silicon Valley-based non-profit organisation made up of major computer firms, software producers, user groups and others.
THE HISTORY OF EMOJI: FROM JAPAN TO BEYOND
Emoji were originally popular in Japan, and widely used online.
However, in recent years they have become hugely popular elsewhere.
Originally meaning pictograph, the word emoji literally means 'picture' (e) + 'letter' (moji).
Icons are standardised and include some specific to Japanese culture, such as a bowing (apologising) businessman, a face wearing a face mask, a white flower used to denote 'brilliant homework' or a group of emoji representing popular foods: ramen noodles, dango, onigiri, Japanese curry, and sushi.
Some emoji character sets have been incorporated into Unicode, allowing them to be used elsewhere in the world - and more could now be added.
Twitter allowed emoji to be used on its web version, as well across its apps, last month.
It does this to ensure that different devices and mobile carriers can share a basic set.
The latest disclosure came after Apple boss Tim Cook was emailed asking if the firm was going to address the issue.
The diversity of emoji was also questioned in a petition posted to DoSomething.org calling on Apple to increase the ethnic diversity found within its emoji keyboard.
'Of the more than 800 Emojis, the only two resembling people of color are a guy who looks vaguely Asian and another in a turban,' it says.
'There's a white boy, girl, man, woman, elderly man, elderly woman, blonde boy, blonde girl and, we're pretty sure, [video game character] Princess Peach.'
A petition suggested that emoji like these could be added to Apple's keyboard
'But when it comes to faces outside of yellow smileys, there's a staggering lack of minority representation.'
It added that the keyboard already offered a graphic showing a same-sex couple, and called on the company to present people with a wider range of skin tones.
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