Chrome for Android Beta 0.18.4409.2396

Unlike iOS, there is no standard browser that is used across the Android platform, despite the fact that the mobile operating system comes from Google, the same company behind the Chrome web browser. Now this has changed with the release of a beta version of Chrome for Android. As with other mobile browsers, tabbed browsing is available, along with a pleasingly clear interface and cross platform synchronization.

If you are already using Chrome as your main browser on your PC or Mac, you’ll be aware that it is possible to synchronize not only information such as your bookmarked sites and browser settings between computers, but also open tabs. This idea has also been brought to the mobile version of the browser, essentially providing you with a seamless browsing experience as you move from one device to another.

When it comes to working with tabs, there is a very pleasing stacked view that makes it easy to navigate between open tabs. One of the problems that many people have with mobile web browsers that pages can be slow to load and rendering can leave a little to be desired. Chrome for Android is quick to use and pages look good and there are a couple of interesting way to interact with your browser. To navigate between tabs you can simply swipe left and right, and when you are in tab preview mode you can tilt your devices to zoom in and out.

At the moment, the beta version of Google’s browser is only available in a limited number of countries (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil) and it can only be installed on tablets and phones that are running Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0). While things are looking good for the Android version of Chrome, it is still very early days.

Chrome 0.18 for Android is a major release with these new features/changes:

-You can now request the desktop version of a website, in case you would rather not view the mobile version.
-You can now add bookmarks as shortcuts on your home screen, so you can get to your favorite sites faster.
-Choose your favorite apps to handle links opened in Chrome.
-Have a proxy setup for Wi-Fi access? You can now use Chrome with the system proxy configured in Android settings.

This is a beta product and it shows, but things are shaping up well and there’s great potential for this to become your browser of choice.