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Hands-on
Chrome for Android — the long-rumored, oft-requested grand unification of Google's mobile and desktop browsing technologies — has just been announced today, and it's being made available immediately as a beta release for phones and tablets running Ice Cream Sandwich. Though Android's existing browser has long shared bits and pieces with desktop Chrome (notably WebKit rendering and Google's V8 JavaScript engine), the release of Chrome for Android represents a more thorough synergy: they're both now based on the open-source Chromium Project, which means it'll be easier for Google to advance the products in better lockstep with one another — features, capabilities, fixes, and so on.
The product represents as much a technical milestone as anything else, but that doesn't mean Chrome for Android doesn't have new user-facing features, too: besides a fresh UI, Google is touting a new, more natural tab management interface, bookmark and tab synchronization with the desktop, support for incognito windows (this is Chrome, after all), and something called Link Preview that makes it easier to select the right link in a densely-populated area of a page. More on that in a bit.
We've been playing with the beta recently on the Galaxy Nexus, and we can say unequivocally that this is a nice upgrade from the Android browser that you've grown used to. It's not going to revolutionize the way you browse on your phone or tablet, but it's generally a smoother experience across the board. Google's focusing more on the user's experience and their perception of speed — things like UI improvements, better pre-fetching, and smoother scrolling — than on actual raw benchmarks, but Chrome delivers in that department anyway: we clocked a Sunspider 0.91 score of 1923.5ms with one tab open, 13 percent better than the 2175.1ms we saw in the old browser. (Both scores were clocked in rapid succession on the same Galaxy Nexus.) And as for that smoother scrolling we mentioned, Android 4.0's stock browser performs competently on rich pages like The Verge, but Chrome really takes it the last mile. We saw the occasional hiccup and freeze, but in general, there's far less stutter in zoom and fast scroll operations. Even more than the new functionality and interface tweaks, that slight bump in performance might be our favorite "feature" here.
Chrome for Android introduces the notion of "place shifting" your browsing session: it keeps track of every Chrome tab that's open on all of your computers at all times, which makes it easier than ever to get up from your desk, pull out your phone, and pick up where you left off. How does it do that? Google's serious about getting Chrome users to sign in — you may recall that sign-in and sync were tweaked in Chrome 16. And in fact, the very first thing you're asked to do when you install Chrome for Android is link to your Google account, which sets you up to use tab and bookmark sync with Chrome on all of your other machines. It works almost instantaneously; every time we changed a bookmark or opened a new tab on the PC, it'd be reflected on the phone in a matter of moments. Chrome for Android doesn't automatically open a tab every time you open one on the desktop — rather, you can pop open a list of opened tabs grouped by each machine you've got synchronized to your account.
That slight bump in performance might be our favorite "feature" here
Beyond speed and sync, tab management is a focal point in Chrome, which adapts an almost webOS-like interface (in fact, the app's official announcement post describes managing tabs "as if you're holding a deck of cards in the palm of your hands"). The Open Tabs button in Chrome's action bar now permanently indicates the number of tabs you actually have open, fixing a pain point with the old browser. Tapping it takes you into this card interface — one card per tab — where you can see thumbnail previews of each page in the state it was in the last time you viewed it. This is where it gets interesting: you can tap the "X" on each card to close it, but you can also swipe it off the screen with a flick of the finger. If you've got multiple tabs, they stack on top of one another; swiping your finger up and down along the "deck" collapses and expands it. You can even use two fingers to "spread" cards apart and get a better view of the cards in between. It might all seem like overkill, but we're living in an age where phones have 1GB (or more) of RAM and multi-core processors, so being able to effectively harness a host of tabs at once becomes a plausible concern.
Of course, Google's clear that this is a beta product right now, and it's not without its flaws. As we mentioned earlier, we saw the occasional "hiccup" while zooming and scrolling pages — not normal stutter, just a seemingly random pause here and there. Also, Link Preview needs some ironing out. In theory, the feature is supposed to automatically pop up a zoomed-in bubble to help you choose the right link when you're tapping in a crowded area of the page, but we found it to be inconsistent — it'd frequently fail to show in places where it would have helped, and instead we'd end up tapping the wrong link. Hopefully, it'll be cleared up by the time the beta label comes off. Also bear in mind that Adobe's Flash Player for Android doesn't work, though that's becoming less of an issue by the day.
Google says that the long-term plan is to make Chrome Android's default browser, and everything we've seen here suggests that's the right move. In the meantime, it'll be a free Android Market download, where it'll install side by side with your existing browser. We'd go so far to say that it's good enough in its present beta form to be used as your only mobile browser, though — it's solid, fast, and already head and shoulders above the aging app it replaces.
Joshua Topolsky contributed to this report.
Comments
YEAAAHH
Caio - February 7, 2012
For those wondering what it looks like on a tablet.
Portrait: http://i.imgur.com/J5SoT.jpg
Landscape: http://i.imgur.com/d8AnR.jpg
Still has plenty of bugs/hiccups. This version of Chrome definitively needs some Polishing.
Caio - February 7, 2012
You posted this just as I asked — read my mind. So it looks like it is using top-of-screen tabs instead of that slick new tab-switching mechanism. Is that configurable? Can you make it so the tabs at top are hidden and accessible via a button which shows those slick previews?
BC2009 - February 7, 2012
Not configurable, can’t make them hide.
Caio - February 7, 2012
I cant wait til the options are added.. I need User Agent selections lol
Celz - February 7, 2012
I wonder how iphone-optimized sites would work on android
Caio - February 7, 2012
They suck. Verge is iphone-optimized and its really horrible on Android (Gingerbread and earlier).
OEMs are in for a world of hurt if they don’t upgrade their devices to ICS
P.Girish - February 7, 2012
verge is fine on my s2
taz89 - February 7, 2012
Mobile Verge works perfectly on my SGS. Though maybe because I’m running ICS.
satan - February 7, 2012 via mobile
Verge works fine for me but I REALLY wish they had a native app.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
Interestingly enough when you select desktop the browser seems to remember that.. So maybe you do not need user agent at all.. It’s lean and fast but I’m used to all of the glorious options Dolphin HD has.. But this is still my main browser for now
Celz - February 8, 2012
As expected, since it’s the first beta release.
pwnst*r - February 7, 2012
I knew no one would notice the bad pun.
Caio - February 7, 2012
For what it’s worth, you got a chuckle out of me.
Sqube - February 7, 2012
I caught the pun. True… and funny.
mike.gorman - February 7, 2012
iFailed :(
pwnst*r - February 7, 2012
I saw what you did there.
jaycarozzi - February 7, 2012
By any chance do desktop themes and extensions work on it? Do your “apps” appear on a new tab?
Stongnik - February 7, 2012
A few more differences I noticed with Tablet.
Tabs:
Only because I just watched this after using the Chrome beta all day yesterday. I was left confused because the nifty stacked tab view is not here (or at least I cannot find it) for the tablet version. The just end up stacking on top of each other like the desktop version.
Swiping left and right on them it moves quite fast. The actual switching part leaves a lot to be desired at the moment.
Lastly, the edge to edge swiping gesture Josh used to go from tab to tab does work on the tablet. This again needs to be looked at before the final release for tablets. Swiping from one edge to another on a 10" tablet is not very efficient. Yes, you have to go edge to edge for it to register the tab switching gesture.
Desktop UA String:
They need to add the UA string option which loads websites as the full desktop version (recently added to the Android Browser). This is under the menu or “three dots” button location on the upper right hand corner of the stock browser.
Speed:
The speed has been very good for a beta. I suspect a lot of the lag is from logging and other debugging efforts. It’s not a “Chrome” browser until it can load a page faster than a french frying potato gun… or so I’ve been told.
Device: Android 4.0.3 on Moto Xoom 4G
Notice here there are the “recently close tabs” items. Not easy to access but at least that’s there. (ctrl+shift+T is something I personally use a lot on the desktop version)
Sites like Vimeo automatically push the HTML5 version after detecting no Flash player.
Lastly, if you close all the tabs you have this nice dark almost wordpressed chrome logo.
Overall, solid beta to release. I look forward to what should have been the default Android browser from the start. The Other Devices feature is awesome but they need to work out the reverse scenario. Often times when I’m viewing something away from my computer I’m left without a way of “syncing” what I was viewing to my desktop from my tablet. I end up emailing or manually navigating to the content again through my desktop browser.
Prime example…why watch a The Verge video on my tiny tablet when I have large 1080p displays to view the content with.
whiteboard - February 8, 2012
grr links…
Chrome Ad:
http://youtu.be/nCgQDjiotG0
Screen grabs:
http://i.imgur.com/waw0B.png
whiteboard - February 8, 2012
It seems to remember the sites that you select view as desktop.. So that helps but a User Agent Switcher is needed still
Celz - February 8, 2012
My sentiments exactly. Nice job Google. That tab switching feature is very very nice. I especially like the swiping a tab away feature. I would love to see if tabs are handled this way on a tablet or handled the old fashioned way.
The #1 most-hated feature I have with iOS 5 on iPad is the change in tabbed browsing to “true tabs” at the top. I used to be able to tap an easy-target button on my iPad and popup a preview of up to 9 browser tabs which I could visually see and then easily tap to switch. It took two taps to switch tabs, but there was never a miss and there was no trying to decipher partial web page titles to determine which tab I was going for.
With the new iOS 5 tabbed browsing, I find myself closing tabs when aiming for navigation elements positioned at the top of the page. I find myself having to guess which tab it is I want because the tab titles are partial or the web pages have poor titles. I also find that that I accidentally close tabs when aiming for things in the bookmarks bar or while entering information in the search bar or address bar.
Everybody screamed for “tabbed browsing” in iOS with actual tabs, but their old way of doing it was much better. What I see here on Chrome for Android is a very slick approach to tabbed browsing for a smartphone that is functionally equivalent to what you get on iOS5 on iPhone/iPod Touch. I just hope Chrome does not use the “top-of-screen tabs” on the tablet, but sticks with this exact same mechanism, optimized for tablets.
Google should at least give you both options. This is probably one of two places in iOS that I think configurable options would have made sense. I miss my iOS4 iPad browsing very very much.
BC2009 - February 7, 2012
Calo simultaneously posted above with me and actually posted screen shots of Chrome on a tablet. Still wondering if you can configure it to not show the tabs at the top, but give a button or something to bring up that slick new tab switcher.
BC2009 - February 7, 2012
I feel exactly opposite. Love the “real” tabs feature and absolutely hated being forced to click twice to change a tab using the old method.
digitalbobby - February 7, 2012
I did a pole on a forum once and only about 20% of iOS users felt like I did — I think Apple should offer the option of using it the old way. But they have never been big on configurable options.
BC2009 - February 7, 2012
no editting…. pole —> poll
BC2009 - February 7, 2012
jdog25 - February 7, 2012
this site should have some image size restrictions
Caio - February 7, 2012
Looking forward to quick controls (especially the 4.0.4 setup of 5 controls) and has anyone found an “autoload desktop site”?
NexusVergil - February 7, 2012
Looks like chrome automatically goes to the “desktop site” if you have previously chosen it for that site, which is pretty nice. With the ease of tabs management and automatic desktop site loading, I guess I really don’t need quick controls. Although it would be nice to have a simple motion which toggles visibility of the omnibar.
NexusVergil - February 7, 2012
Wouldn’t qthe uick controls gesture interfere with swiping through tabs though
ravipatel - February 7, 2012
Could bring it up from the top or bottom instead? Or hold it on the edge? Or tap the edge maybe? They could figure out something if they want to.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
FINALLY! But I did like my dolphin browser. especially the gestures.
DeeeNYC - February 7, 2012
Can’t wait to try it out! Downloading now!
Mike10010100 - February 7, 2012
Woah, My Nexus S is pleased.
youtube10 - February 7, 2012
I miss quick controls already, It was my favorite thing about the ICS browser.
youtube10 - February 7, 2012
same, it’s much more useful but it definitively had a learning curve.
Caio - February 7, 2012
I’d say its gonna come pretty soon. My fav thing with the ICS browser as well.
The improved tabs and the page loading is enough to make me move to this right now though.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
Ah dag nam it!
Not available in my country? What the deuce, apk please you lovely people? pretty please :)
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
I’ve pulled the apk, but I have no idea where to upload it to. Suggestions?
youtube10 - February 7, 2012
Someone down in the comment section below has kindly posted an apk link.
Mike10010100 - February 7, 2012
I dunno – try Megaupload?
frigorific - February 7, 2012
On a more serious note, blocking app availability by country is a terrible thing to do.
The results are apparent in the comments in this article. People who wanted to try out the app have to trust an unknow fellow commenter to provide a safe apk to install on their phones. I don’t have to say why that’s a bad thing.
If you need to block your app from usage by country – like Netflix – you should block by ip just like their webpage. Don’t make people mess around with unknown apps from unknown providers.
There, I said it :)
Regards,
Fred from Norway (who’ll have to download one of these rogue links, just like i have to do with the Netflix app)
frigorific - February 7, 2012
They do block by ip but yes I agree with you.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
Market apps blocked by country are not blocked by ip I think.
“Market enabler” let me change my Xoom wifi’s provider to t-mobile US to make available alle US apps. But not everyone have root and Market enabler…
I’ll just copy my apk in here as well to make it even more apparent that this is a bad way to have people install apps:
http://db.tt/VcpeG0d0
Chrome works great both on Galaxy Nexus and Xoom btw :) Nice!
frigorific - February 7, 2012
I don’t understand what you mean. You mean the country that you set up when you set your account? Thats not true, I have a US account and it won’t work in Ireland (well it only displays apps available in Ireland)
It uses two things as far as I know, your sim card and your ip. Market Enabler changes the sim card part but as far as im aware they added the ip layer on top of it so market enabler no longer works without a proxy.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
Ok, I think I understand. It might not be only by ip was my point, since it worked on my wifi-only xoom, but not my phone.
I think now you need to do one of two things for marketenabler to work on a device that is not wifi-only:
- flightmode (making the device appear as wifi-only device)
- vpn (or maybe proxy)
I also usually force close market app before running market enabler on my xoom. usually works :)
Feels better to download apps from proper market rather than random links on forums etc…
frigorific - February 11, 2012
My Nexus S 4G is sad.
Calfan - February 7, 2012
Sorry to hear that. My Nexus S 4G is happy running ICS and Chrome. Root that thing and happy flashing (Referring to ROMs and not your junk).
ought0korrect fale - February 8, 2012
That must explain why the browser icon in ICS looks like a mess of moire, they knew Chrome for Android was coming!
dagamer34 - February 7, 2012
Anyone else notice the tab Joshua had on his computer?
jreed91 - February 7, 2012
What was it?
Zoide - February 7, 2012
“Apple Fanboy Problem | ZDNET”
dagamer34 - February 7, 2012
So I’m not the only one who Googled it? ;-)
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/violetblue/the-apple-fanboy-problem/1038
traycer - February 7, 2012
Man, this MacGruber guy is such a jerk. I didn’t even like him when he was on “On the Verge”
Kacho_ON - February 7, 2012
Mrs. Blue is just mad because she was called out for refusing to apologize for calling a professional a “booth babe”. Gruber didn’t tell his readers to do anything. It’s not his fault for their actions.
I also like how she tries to pass off all Apple users as basement dwelling nerds. “Women are already geek outsiders in Apple culture.” Lady, “Apple culture” includes everyone from 2 year-olds playing with iPads to 90 year-old grandmas. She mad at Gruber and she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
NanoGeek - February 7, 2012
Got it. Ignore the part where the Apple fans lie through their teeth about her status in the company (PR rep, hello!) and that the woman herself wasn’t offended by the characterization.
Blame the lady making a passing joke at an inopportunely timed photo.
Mike10010100 - February 8, 2012
I’m guessing that you didn’t even read the article at all? Or just chose to ignore the part where Gruber knowingly posted bogus information from a bullshit source without any scrutiny? What part of this tale is ‘acceptable’ to you?
Strand0410 - February 8, 2012
Bullshit in this case being the editor of macworld who posted on her article. If you go to the actual DF post it was not a real attack either Violet Blue has made this way more than it should be because she got embarrassed. And while she many not have been offended the fact that she automatically assumes a woman at a show is a booth babe is a problem.
That is the bigger issue really.
Lomifeh - February 8, 2012
Anyone read the article and then look to the comments for validation? I did, and it’s not pretty.
the_v1s1onary - February 7, 2012
And here I thought people got rude and inconsiderate on the verge. But the more I look at other websites the more I realize how awesome this community actually is, despite some of the comment wars, I feel like it never gets anywhere close to as bad as it is on that article.
BrightSilence - February 8, 2012
The Verge comment wars = “You suck!” “NO!, YOU SUCK”
Other site comment wars = “I’m gonna $#$
$# and $(($ then ##!!@ on your $$#!# before I $##$# your mother!!!!”AbsoluteDesignz - February 8, 2012
“…and it’s being made available immediately as a beta release for phones and tablets running Ice Cream Sandwich.”
valdeaunia - February 7, 2012
And it’s apparently avaiable only in these countries :( I need an apk ASAP.
- United States
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- France
- Germany
- Spain
- Australia
- Japan
- Korea
- Mexico
- Argentina
- Brazil
Matous Vales - February 7, 2012
What a strange list of countries. I guess when Asus release ICS for my Transformer and I move to an ‘approved’ country I will consider installing it.
theaolway - February 7, 2012
Y NO IRELAND!
Google ye trolls, fix this.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
For those living in non-supported countries, here’s the link straight to the APK for side-loading: http://db.tt/Yn2ij5PM
Infiniti - February 7, 2012
Aha, you beat me to it. +1 for you.
youtube10 - February 7, 2012
Hah, no problem. :)
Anyway sorry, the above link is dead now since it was generating too much traffic for a Dropbox account. Here’s the Mediafire mirror:
http://www.mediafire.com/?2dgkp3kchxdukil
Infiniti - February 7, 2012
Hop across the border and download it :-P
urpert - February 7, 2012 via mobile
haha that simple eh?
I’ve calmed down now, my fellow vergians I thank you. I’m loving the new tab interface, oh so pretty.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
WTF – Australia but not New Zealand?! We’re virtually the same country Google, grr.
Sideloading, here I come…
KnightNZ - February 7, 2012
One desert one lush forests? Haha
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
LOTR != New Zealand. We’ve got plenty of desert here too, and Australia has plenty of forest, plus they tend to have better weather when they’re not being flooded.
KnightNZ - February 7, 2012
flood warning this weekend, sweet bro!
puzzlepunk - February 8, 2012
one does not simply sideload into android
conio - February 7, 2012
I did.
KnightNZ - February 9, 2012
One percent of Android users are on version 4.0. Doubt my phone will ever get it…
http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-versions.html
#OccupyAndroid?
Hussain Rahim - February 7, 2012
It’s time to root!
I have ICS running smoothly on my HTC Desire. Though unfortunately Chrome won’t work on it because full hardware acceleration isn’t implemented just yet. Since there is a hack in place to replace it, this has so far been the only thing that doesn’t work on it. (I just get blank pages)
On my transformer prime I have quite an opposite experience than mentioned in this post. It may load a tiny bit faster, but scrolling and zooming is much slower and choppier than the default browser.
BrightSilence - February 8, 2012
Definitely a good move,
what took them so long?
deva_p - February 7, 2012 via mobile
Android 4.0 as a minimum requirement? It’s a f-cking joke.
gjac0m - February 7, 2012
It’s
not really funnyall the more funny because it doesn’t look like they followed their own new ICS ui guidelines at all.::er - February 7, 2012
well I shouldn’t say “at all” but there are many noticeable deviations
::er - February 7, 2012
Isn’t that how guidelines work?
theaolway - February 7, 2012
Excellent dictionary skills. Let me explain: Chrome devs not following Android guidelines to the letter: not surprising. Chrome devs not following Android guidelines to the extent seen in the gallery above: pretty surprising.
::er - February 7, 2012
Anyway, I really didn’t want to be a troll on this one. This is a great thing for Android; it really looks great overall and I’m looking forward to being able to use it whenever/however I get ICS on my phone. (HTC Sensation scheduled for update soon…)
::er - February 7, 2012
It’s not far off. It also is similar in feel to their gmail app. When you look at all there apps in general, they can very, but the basics are the same, the principles are applied and the UI is consistent. That’s good use of the guidelines.
It’s also chrome, and keeps a tie into the browsers feel. It’s also a beta.
Dino_the_Dino - February 7, 2012
That’s a real good point, I didn’t think of that.
::er - February 7, 2012
A more in depth look at the app.
Dino_the_Dino - February 7, 2012
http://youtu.be/sWIBzhvbQ8M (no edit)
Dino_the_Dino - February 7, 2012
It doesn’t surprise me. Google Currents had back buttons on screen when I installed it. That is nuts given every single Android device has dedicated back buttons.
theaolway - February 7, 2012
I’m guessing this app was made before the guidelines existed. Although I will admit it seems like they should have reskinned it before they released it.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
A skin won’t change the behavior of a UI, just the looks.
Jeremy-P - February 7, 2012
….yes?
I never said it would, the comment was the UI appearance rather than functionality was it not?
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
why is that a joke? its a beta
Dube - February 7, 2012
I’m guess its all that pretty GUI and the fact that they want to kept the beta kind of closed.
Same reason its only available in some countries I’d say.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
Hey, that covers a full ONE percent of Android devices out there!
digitalbobby - February 7, 2012
I am the 1%!
JoshMahan - February 7, 2012
I am also the 1%, the rest of you should #OccupyChromeForAndroid
tranceformer978 - February 7, 2012
#OccupyFragmentation
shakil314 - February 7, 2012
This isn’t fragmentation, this is just google making a choice on their beta.
This is the same as Siri.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
Get over it. If it makes you feel any better I am loving it on my Galaxy Nexus.
thisismynextname - February 7, 2012
Really? ICS only?
MPower - February 7, 2012
Yep. really :)
tupz - February 7, 2012
I think guys at XDA are working on this ;)
Murrzeak - February 7, 2012
I wish I could Topolsky-rub this all over my face.
adcustom - February 7, 2012
Steve St. Germain - February 7, 2012
That tab viewer is gorgeous!
benr - February 7, 2012
Tab switching is even better.
dagamer34 - February 7, 2012
So they’re targeting the 1% of Android devices that run ICS?
:S
Zoide - February 7, 2012
Not even 1% since it is on’y available in some countries.
theaolway - February 7, 2012
For now.
Semi-closed beta.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
Jesus people chill out! It’s still in beta, I’m sure it’ll open up to other versions of Android when it’s properly released.
mjyatess - February 7, 2012
Can someone upload apk to dropbox or something? It’s not available in Poland.
tomek.f - February 7, 2012
Ask and you shall receive http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6755792/com.android.chromev0.16.4130.199.199.apk
apeironer - February 7, 2012
Thank you mister.
Matous Vales - February 7, 2012
Marry me!
TheJaz - February 7, 2012
krazyfrog - February 7, 2012
My link is down due to “generating excessive traffic” but there are other links further down the page.
apeironer - February 7, 2012
Is Josh’s computer names “Virus 6000”??
thanegill - February 7, 2012
So this browser has made Chrome-to-Phone useless?
BranFlake30 - February 7, 2012
I guess it does have its uses like sending copied text to the phone but overall this is way better.
Moelester518 - February 7, 2012
that makes sense
BranFlake30 - February 7, 2012
Most Android phones out now will never get updated to ICS so it will still have uses for a year or two.
theaolway - February 7, 2012
yea my contract is up on my G2 in Oct. I hope to get whatever the next Nexus phone is. And hope it will come to Tmo.
BranFlake30 - February 7, 2012
This is a beta. We have no idea if Chrome will be made available to older versions. My guess yes, considering 90% is on 2.×.
Dino_the_Dino - February 7, 2012
Maybe but it doesn’t seem likely to me.
theaolway - February 7, 2012
Why? Gingerbread is well capable of running this and they will want to push the chrome brand hard. Its a household name, when people see phones running chrome its going to be a selling point.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
You have no evidence to support this. Google Music is 2.2 and up. Google currents is 2.2 and up. Most new, if not all gapps are 2.2+. (wallet, catalog being exceptions). Like I said, this is an early beta. They could have easily made it support only 4.x devices to keep beta test numbers in check. Time will tell, but this is chrome. This is a product and a brand they want to push to everyone. I’d be shocked if it didn’t work on 2.2+.
Dino_the_Dino - February 8, 2012
Have Google ever back ported Android software and ended up supporting versions earlier than they launched with?
theaolway - February 8, 2012
yes
AbsoluteDesignz - February 9, 2012
Still easier to right click a file link and Chrome to Phone it I reckon. That’s mainly what I use it for anyway.
thisismynextname - February 7, 2012
I honestly like the chrome on the old browser much more. This whitish color scheme with visible URL box isn’t doing it for me.
Qays - February 7, 2012
that’ll change to their ICS theme soon I imagine.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
Fuck yeah!
That UI looks awesome
Angel Jimenez - February 7, 2012
Maybe it’s better when actually using it but based on the video the scrolling still seems pretty wonky. Otherwise looks pretty damn nice.
brianb722 - February 7, 2012
Is anyone else not able to get the tab sync working?
Moelester518 - February 7, 2012
works fine out of the box for me. Using chrome dev version
Caio - February 7, 2012
Wasn’t working initially but I logged out and then back into chrome on my computer, cleared app cache on my phone and cleared data. Went back in and everything was gravy.
apeironer - February 7, 2012
I had to go into options and make sure that “Open tabs” was ticked under my sync settings, it wasn’t before.
thisismynextname - February 7, 2012
Why, WHY am I stuck in The Netherlands and not getting this beta?!!?
Does anyone have an APK or something?
TheJaz - February 7, 2012
Yes. Try these:
http://www.mediafire.com/?2dgkp3kchxdukil
Mirror:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/345344/temp/com.android.chrome.apk
Infiniti - February 7, 2012
If possible, can someone upload the apk please? Want to try this on my Nexus S and it is not available in my region.
krazyfrog - February 7, 2012
Can’t see it in the UK at the moment.
CFH - February 7, 2012
On the Google announcement blog follow the market link and download from there. I couldn’t find it on the market either so just did that.
Its pretty awesome so far.
PhoenixMaster00 - February 7, 2012
Cheers!
CFH - February 7, 2012
Too bad that they are still wasting a lot of screen real estate.
realjjj - February 7, 2012
I’m sure they will bring the quick options back but I don’t think they are wasting a lot of space.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
They won’t bring quick controls back because swiping in from the left and right of the screen now switches between tabs. I usually use quick controls on the stock browser but I don’t think I’ll miss them, Chrome rocks.
thisismynextname - February 7, 2012
Bring it in from the top or bottom, tap the side, hold the side, two finger swipe, three finger swipe, two finger tap etc.
More than one way of doing something, I think they will bring it back.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
No they won’t.
thisismynextname - February 7, 2012
Oooh, finally I can get rid of dolphin…… Incessant I get an ICS phone that is….
cwchase - February 7, 2012 via mobile
Incessant = once
Damn you auto correct, and damn you theverge for your no edit policy
cwchase - February 7, 2012 via mobile
Adobe has clarified: No Flash Player for Google Chrome for Android: http://blogs.adobe.com/flashplayer/2012/02/flash-chrome-for-android-beta.html.
johncblandii - February 7, 2012
Adobe sucks.
Jeremy-P - February 7, 2012
Ah what! No ads?
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
As long as YouTube links still autolaunch in the separate player, I’m sure I’ll live.
The sooner the internet ditches its reliance on Adobe for Flash and PDF in lieu of actual “standards”, the better.
KnightNZ - February 7, 2012
Very nice. I never liked the Bookmark seiup in the original ICS browser.
This is much better on my Galaxy Nexus.
These are the small perks of getting the Nexus devices!
creativedestruction - February 7, 2012
I realize that people are going to call me a troll for saying this (I’m not, btw), but did anyone notice how many features Google took from others? The new tab UI is an exact rip off of webOS. And although it’s not the same, the new Link Preview reminds me of Apple’s link popup from iOS 1.0 that let you see the destination before releasing your finger from the link (this feature was removed eventually).
Don’t get me wrong. Chrome looks MUCH better than the stock browser. But it’s a bit like deja vu too.
WhiteNiteLite - February 7, 2012
Good, I like that they take what works from other platforms and mix them together.
Caio - February 7, 2012
Exactly. At some point, there was a “First!!!” car manufacturer to place power windows and locks in a car. And airbags, and ABS, and traction control, and on and on it goes.
I will have a hard time getting away from Opera Mobile. It has sync, multiple tabs at once (not true tabbed browsing but close enough), it’s GREAT at tap to zoom, and it’s very fast.
If Chrome ‘copies’ enough stuff from Opera too, I’ll switch over! (after I get ICS)
As it is, this is a true Beta simply because there are so few folks with ICS on their phones.
Chili Palmer - February 7, 2012
And you know what im cool with that. The designer is the guy who made the cards in the first place and who knows if anyone will ever port over that functionality to android proper. Honestly it looks good, runs well, and behaves amazingly why complain?
allened - February 7, 2012
WebOS? Haha well guess who their designer is.
DaGetz - February 7, 2012
Given that WebOS is now opensource anyway, I’d certainly welcome them using chunks of it as I really like the WebOS interface.
KnightNZ - February 7, 2012
Sorry to deviate from the topic, but the video doesn’t work on iPad…
Would like to see what I am missing out with my antique Desire HD
Pavelz - February 7, 2012
Root, put some ICS love on it and install this thing on it. Easy! :)
Murrzeak - February 7, 2012
QUICK someone remind me how to change default application settings on my GNex!!!
Stock browser…OUT!!
Chrome…IN!
nickgerm - February 7, 2012
open a link from another app. like gmail. and it will prompt you
Caio - February 7, 2012
Or settings→apps→all(at the top)→browser→clear defaults. Although nickgerms method is probably faster
apeironer - February 7, 2012
App Launcher > Drag Browser to App Info > Disable :)
thereddestdog - February 7, 2012
Thanks, been using ICS for moths now and this is the first time I’ve noticed app info.
TheJaz - February 7, 2012
Checkout the ICS tips and tricks in the android forum. There are some more nice little gems.
apeironer - February 7, 2012
And I JUST rooted and installed an Ice Cream Sandwich rom on my Sensation yesterday. Thank you Google, This is pretty damn brilliant.
PaulForgione - February 7, 2012
Is it working for you? I can’t get it working on my CM9 ROM. It installed fine from the market, but it FCs instantly. Trying to manually install the .apk gives me a parsing error. :(
Jeremy-P - February 7, 2012
LOVE IT, AMAZING
Now, I hope they allow extensions, I need me some LastPass action
thereddestdog - February 7, 2012
Also, miss the ‘Request Desktop Version’
thereddestdog - February 7, 2012
And I wish/hope for an option to put the omnibar and tab controls on the bottom of the screen
thereddestdog - February 7, 2012
The tab switching is ridiculously good!
Makes me wanna run ICS on an emulator just to do that!
Soham - February 7, 2012
Just noticed that it doesn’t have offline reading like the stock browser does. Oh well. That’s why I have ReadItLater as backup.
JTNJ - February 7, 2012 via mobile
I’d like to see two way syncing. Currently (unless I am missing a flag in desktop Chrome) it only syncs to the mobile browser. I’d like to be able to be browsing on the mobile and pick it up at my desk.
ju12zo - February 7, 2012
I use “Chrome to Phone” a lot. Not much use for that anymore.
Walt_ - February 7, 2012
Just tried it running on my Galaxy Nexus. Two comments:
(1) Inertia scrolling needs some work. Big swipe doesn’t make scrolling much faster. It takes a lot more work to scroll from top to bottom on a long page (compared to stock ICS browser).
(2) Scrolling seems to be smoother, but slower? This is not a complaint, but more like behavior comparison to the stock ICS browser. If you scroll far enough that the content hasn’t been loaded onto the GPU, you see blank spaces (much like the checkboard patter in iOS browser), and then it takes some time for the rest of the content to show up. But the overall scrolling experience is smooth. If you do the same thing on the stock ICS browser, you don’t see blank page, but a rather extremely low res version of the content at first and the scrolling is not as smooth. Because of the blank vs low-res content, it feels like the stock ICS browser runs slightly faster, but that may just be a perception thing and may not be true. I’ll leave it for tech site to do timed comparison.
Overall, I like Chrome interface better. But I love stock browser’s “quick control” feature
tsekh - February 7, 2012
I’ve been wondering why it didn’t come out for mobile sooner. Google TV is Android based, and it has had it’s own chrome browser since the beginning.
romulus42 - February 7, 2012 via mobile
Google TV was based on x86, android is ARM based. Probably took a lot of work to port it over
Caio - February 7, 2012
Exactly. A lot of Chrome’s code was tailored to x86 at first, that’s what made it so fast.
They have had to move some of that to ARM.
Danrarbc - February 7, 2012
Translation: the “Browser” on Android has been renamed to “Chrome”
illegaloperation - February 7, 2012
Not really, the old browser had no Chrome features really. Just the webkit core.
Danrarbc - February 7, 2012
Running great! Can’t wait to see how see how this evolves and if it will update as fast as the desktop version.
Evan Halley - February 7, 2012
Interesting Bookmarks: Pitchfork, 3 Mac Blogs, Celebrity Blackberry Sightings…
sabones - February 7, 2012
Damn, I have a Galaxy Nexus but I live in Costa Rica, so no beta for me :( why google why???
h0m3r16 - February 7, 2012
just get the apk, someone posted it in a comment above
nickgerm - February 7, 2012
thanks man!
h0m3r16 - February 7, 2012
This means they’ve ported it to ARM.
NaJaKwa - February 7, 2012
Yea Nilay and Joshua kinda missed the fact that GTV was running on a ARM processor at CES and chrome was being used. Therefore, Chrome works on ARM.
BranFlake30 - February 7, 2012
http://youtu.be/sWIBzhvbQ8M
The chromium blog has a more in-depth video about Chrome for Android.
Dino_the_Dino - February 7, 2012
The tab feature looks really cool. One thing interesting about ICS is all these little animations kind of like WP7 that make the phone fun to use. I find iOS doesn’t have much of this stuff and APple doesn’t really use ‘cool’ animations, only the basic intertial scrolling.
bootareen - February 7, 2012 via mobile
PSA: If you’re bitching about it only being Android 4.0+, contact your carrier and manufacturer to voice your displeasure. Alternatively buy Nexus or, when available, other Google Experience devices (e.g. Motorola Xoom).
jm9843 - February 7, 2012
I waited for this for so long. Too bad it’s too late for me, anyway, tech industry has such an amazing and wonderful future ahead of it both in software and hardware hardware, sure gonna miss all this stuff
Mikehenriquez - February 7, 2012
It’s awesome.
There is also a new extension to send a specific site to your Android devices and open it right there. If you’ve multiple devices you can choose one and if you use the new experimental chrome desktop version you can also send an offline version of a webpage to your android phone or tablet.
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/idknbmbdnapjicclomlijcgfpikmndhd
Leif81 - February 7, 2012
One of the things that annoys me about dolphin browser is that when you are zoomed in and trying to look around scrolling left to right, you always get those side tabs from either side. Hopefully when using the same gesture with chrome beta, you dont end up switching to another tab.
Wisconsinated - February 7, 2012 via mobile
Has anybody found a way to access about.config? I’m using a Transformer Prime and some sites don’t have a full site’ link.
Chris Johnson. - February 7, 2012
Chrome browser is great, but its missing a huge feature from the stock browser of ISC. The capability to `SAVE FOR OFFLINE READING`!
Darwin - February 7, 2012
It does one better imo. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/idknbmbdnapjicclomlijcgfpikmndhd
You need to be on the dev-channel version of Chrome for the desktop for “snapshots” to work.
jm9843 - February 7, 2012
Does it have plugins? I can’t live without lastpass.
youareme7 - February 7, 2012
But does it have text reflow?
/s
DLebs - February 7, 2012
works fine for me. just double tap
Leif81 - February 7, 2012
OMG TEXT REFLOW IS EVERYTHING
revlayle - February 7, 2012
How well does it cope with the full-fat version of Google Docs? How about on a tablet like the Transformer Prime?
puckuk - February 7, 2012
I’m using a TP right now and docs seems to work fine. I’ll write it up on my blog soon. Google: livingwithandroidos
Chris Johnson. - February 7, 2012
‘fine’ as in ‘as good as any mobile browser’ or in ‘as good as my desktop browser’? Looking forward to the blog post link…
puckuk - February 7, 2012
As in works flawlessly apart from wanting to take you to the mobile view.
Will write up the article tomorrow to go with the video, sorry about the quality! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPVlaCqqVy0
Chris Johnson. - February 7, 2012
Fantastic, thanks for that!
puckuk - February 8, 2012
Hmm testing it on the HP Touchpad running CM9 alpha 0.6. The Verge html5 video isn’t showing up properly. Audio plays but no video. Works very nicely in the standard one. Nice to have a slightly more desktopy ui but I think I’ll stick with the default for the moment. A beta browser on an alpha OS is a step too far I think!
grindboy - February 7, 2012
Finally!
KevinQian - February 7, 2012
It’s working really well for me personally.
ioioi210 - February 7, 2012
Unfortunately its not working right now on my evo 3D running ICS. Hope someone can get it on there soon.
doyleman7 - February 7, 2012 via mobile
Good stuff! Been playing around with it for an hour or so! Having a few bugs with adding and organizing bookmarks but other than that i’d like to thank Google for finally making this dream come true.
Curious if they plan on phasing out the default browser in future versions of Android and making Chrome the browser to rule them all.
App Dev - February 7, 2012
Has this launched on the UK market yet, because I can’t seem to find it….
Kushaal - February 7, 2012
Does it auto update? Or you have to update it through the Market?
JohnBiancato - February 7, 2012
Both. Make sure you check the auto-update box on the Chrome page in the Marketplace
thereddestdog - February 7, 2012
Oh thanks. I was just curious, I’m not an Android user (WP and iOS (-:)
JohnBiancato - February 7, 2012
There’s also a general setting for the Marketplace to allow ALL apps to update automatically
thereddestdog - February 7, 2012
My only gripe so far, there’s no easy way to switch to the Desktop version of the site if the site doesn’t have the link to do so.
sManowar - February 7, 2012
Some features are kinda borrowed from Opera Mobile. Like the open tab count indicator, the zoom-in feature while tapping on several links at the same time. But they seem to be implemented in a very cool way! I really like where it’s going. :)
Murrzeak - February 7, 2012
Game, set and match. I love the way they’ve implemented tabs – it’s without doubt the best implementation of tabs I’ve ever used on a mobile device. It would be incredible if they used the same implementation with the Recent Apps view.
Codernaut - February 7, 2012
When will The Verge fix their browser detection for Android tablets? Right now, I get the mobile version of the site with Chrome or the ICS browser on my Xoom. I should get the desktop version. I’ve opened a bug about this, but haven’t heard back.
DerekMorr - February 7, 2012
You could also just scroll down and switch to desktop view…
smartphoneblogging - February 7, 2012 via mobile
Damn it feels good to be a 1%er!
low_level_ninja - February 7, 2012 via mobile
Downloaded & Installed and orgasmic. BOUT DAYUM TAYM
omenshyne - February 7, 2012
Looks like they’ve finally fixed double tap to zoom. Works much more like it does on iOS now.
Qhorin - February 7, 2012
“Works much more like it does on iOS now”
21tiger - February 7, 2012
Love it, great addition to Android.
BeLogical - February 7, 2012
This is actually kinda great. I’m not a fan of Android, but I like Chrome as a browser!
tbechmannfrost - February 7, 2012
Matias’s cards are back? Long live WebOS? :)
I hope Google open source it
oliversl - February 7, 2012
WANT! But my N1 is entombed in 2.3.6 and homebrew ICS for it is still in alpha. Sigh.
stalkythefish - February 7, 2012
I found that if you swipe up 5 times in the tab selector, it does a flip “do a barrel roll” style =)
jlange - February 7, 2012
I just figured that out and was going to post it. Good catch, mate.
BenCaldwell5 - February 7, 2012
I have a Gingerbread phone and I never surf the web. Gah. What a POS browser.
21tiger - February 7, 2012
Love Chrome. Can’t wait for an iOS version. I hear it’s in Google’s plans, but that it’s gonna take an effort with Apple as well.
jessefp - February 7, 2012
Chrome is based on Webk—-nevermind……*sigh
21tiger - February 7, 2012
It doesn’t support text reflow which is a no go. How can Google release this without text reflow?!
smartphoneblogging - February 7, 2012
I think you missed the beta tag
apeironer - February 7, 2012
Yeah its a beta. But text reflow has been there for years. And its one of the features that are really unique to Android. So I would have expected the chrome beta to get all the basics done first, which it doesn’t.
Have no problem with waiting for it but I have the bad feeling that it might have been left out on purpose. iOS doesn’t have this, wp7 and webos also. Hope Google doesn’t think that the feature is not important…
Also they just invested a huge amount of time to streamline the UI of Android with ICS. All Google apps had the same style finally, but now chrome goes back to a white froyo like theme. Where is Matias Duarte?
smartphoneblogging - February 7, 2012 via mobile
No text reflow but double tap to zoom behaves much better now. Also forum threads fully fit the screen so there is no excessive scrolling from side to side..
Hopefully they will add text reflow soon, but I’m already seeing better usability while navigating around pages.
Qhorin - February 7, 2012
Text reflow is like one of the biggest reasons I prefer Android to iOS I was surprised it was missing too.. iOS browsers are almost useless to me but it seems that Chrome adjusts the text size somewhat because I pan alot less than in iOS.. Text reflow is why everything needs to be in an app on iOS…
Celz - February 8, 2012
I bloody love it so far. Wasn’t sure at first but after playing around with it for a while I’m sold. Really great stuff. I wonder if Google will marry me..
thisismynextname - February 7, 2012
Sweet!
Meta - February 7, 2012
Looks laggy to me.
JRX16 - February 7, 2012
New Chrome to Phone beta to go along with our lovely new browser! (Now called Chrome to Mobile).
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/idknbmbdnapjicclomlijcgfpikmndhd
Doesn’t require app on phone, connects to the beta browser. Supports sending web pages for offline viewing too. Very cool, although I haven’t tested that because it required the dev build of Chrome.
The downside seems to be that you can’t right-click a link and send it through the new beta.
thisismynextname - February 7, 2012
errrrrrrrrrr, I thought the old android browser is called mobile chrome…… So this guy is the real Chrome for Android now??
Will they just upgrade the old one with this new version? that will probably clear up the confusion to those non-tech savvy……..
pretty cool release, will download it when home.
Noah Fang - February 7, 2012
I like it. The browser is fast and well done. Just needs a little tweak. All google needs is software and hardware too work together like Apple and there browser would be faster. Even if Safari on iPhone and Android Google chrome mobile is running the same technology. Over all I like it. Love to see some of this technology in the real chrome. Well I see in lion.
FrankyApple - February 7, 2012
Would love too see the benchmarks. But I know it’s faster than safari mobile. But not the same good experience. But I would love to test it out.
FrankyApple - February 7, 2012
I want it on my iPhone! Step up yo game Apple!
werty1432k - February 7, 2012
I’m the moron who bought the Atrix 4g when it came out one year ago and now I can’t run Google’s own software.
Jmccomas85 - February 7, 2012
What makes you think Google would give Motorola access to new software just because you bought a certain phone? I switched to ICS because the CM9 team got it working on my Epic and now some of my most important apps don’t work like ThinkFreeOffice.. So maybe they should stop everything and fix that for me..
Celz - February 8, 2012
Oh, i dunno because GOOGLE BOUGHT MOTOROLA? ;)
revlayle - February 8, 2012
I don’t know man, I just remember that the Atrix was really hyped up as one of the first dual core flagship phones when it came out and quite a few people bought it, thinking it would carry them through their two year contract. It had fairly beefy specs as well – Dual Core 1GHz Tegra2 vs the Epic’s single core A8, 1gb Ram vs the Epic’s 512MB so I doubt its a hardware issue. Furthermore, stopping updates is one thing, but actively trying to prevent users from updating is an entirely different thing (search 0X1000)
Jmccomas85 - February 8, 2012
“Android 4.0’s stock browser performs competently on rich pages like The Verge, but Chrome really takes it the last mile” Really? What was the Android team doing all this time?
How is it that the Android team was cut off from the mobile browser technology that the Chrome team had? …or is this primarily a “branding” exercise, with some Dolphin-like overlay?
I downloaded the Chrome browser from market. I’ll check it out. Gee, Google, thanks for sharing!
xboomer - February 7, 2012
Well, Chrome looks amazing in the video.
franscene - February 7, 2012
it doesnt work properly on my defy cm9, it opens but doesnt want ot load any website just a white screen and all the buttons dont do anything. useless!
KFayz - February 7, 2012
Fuck yeah!!
When they said about “faster rendering” I never thought a bit it would be THIS fast!!
I run it on my Nexus S, and compare it to the stock browser, the stock looks like shit!!
I mean, the stock browser isn’t slow, but sometimes I wish it could perform as fast as those of dual core phone.
With this chrome browser for android, I almost got the performance I’m wishing for, and it’s still in beta!!
I’m using this as my default right away, and can’t go back to the stock.
The only thing I miss from the stock is the full screen view and force desktop page.
Also, the sync feature seems not working properly on my phone?
I downloaded the apk, since the app is not available yet in my country :(
timm_zeeman - February 8, 2012
patfactorx - February 8, 2012
Its things like this that make me want to switch to android when my contract is up. I mean seriously apple? I can’t even change my default browser without jailbreaking. (and this is coming from someone with a macbook pro, iPhone 4 and atv2).
hildey - February 8, 2012
4.0 and up? I guess I won’t be getting Chrome then!
Phil Watts - February 8, 2012
Apparently Typekit has supported Android as far back as v2.2 of the OS. You have to “republish your kit” in order for it to work.
http://blog.typekit.com/2010/09/16/typekit-android/
MagnetMan - February 8, 2012
I don’t think that’s whats going on here since that article is from 2010 and the verge didn’t exist.
apeironer - February 8, 2012
No one notices that switching tabs (swiping in from the side) looks like switching apps in Windows 8?
Looks nice though, bit choppy when zooming but it’s a beta after all.
Euwine - February 8, 2012
@Josh T … good to see that Engadget is still in top spot of your bookmarks
No_Underscore - February 8, 2012
It’s a little cranky on my Galaxy S with an ICS ROM installed. Great when it works, but half the time it hangs and doesn’t load.
WilliamF - February 8, 2012
I tried the Chrome-beta on my Nexus S ICS (i9020a with “near stock” custom ROM). There are some nice features and animations but unfortunately, it is a resourse hog on the memory-limited Nexus S.
I have been down this road before and retired my Nexus One as it slowly ran out of gas. Looks like this will be the fate of the Nexus S.
Deleted…
Reviews and impressions of Chrome-beta will be be most relevant from Gnex users…
xboomer - February 8, 2012
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