[Guillaumedm]

Once you know what thr icons are about, it's better to have icons; less test, visually more appealing.

How about that? At first it shows-up like words; once you've clicked one, it only ever comes back as an icon. ?

[JoshTriplett]

That would make it hard to get used to the interface. If you're really attached to the icons, I'd suggest leaving them, and just providing the text as tooltips.

Also, clicking on it once doesn't mean a user will know or remember what it does. :)