Posts tagged Chrome
Search In Pics: Google Irish Dragonboat Race, Disqus Swag & Chrome Obsession
Sep 21st
In this week’s Search In Pictures, here are the latest images culled from the web, showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have, and more. Google Racing In Irish Dragonboat: Source: Google+ Disqus Summer Swag:…
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Life Is Good: Chrome Is My iPhone’s Default Browser
Sep 21st
I refuse to upgrade my iPhone to iOS 6. My iPad, sure, but the pocket-sized device I carry with me everywhere is going to have to wait. My iPhone is jailbroken and I’m not going to give up the freedom and customizations. Using Chrome as my default browser is one of them.
Android users like to make fun of Apple devotees because so much of what you can do with a jailbroken iPhone is just normal on Google’s mobile OS. And they’re right, to an extent. You should be able to do simple things like rename apps, customize the look of the home screen and choose default applications for email and Web browsing, just as you’ve done on your desktop for decades. Apple’s user experience is brilliant, but man, some of the limitations are downright silly.
iOS doesn’t properly let you change your default Web browser, so the excitement was a bit muted when Google launched Chrome for the iPhone and iPad. However, if your device is jailbroken, running Chrome as your default browser is as easy as firing up the Cydia app depot, searching for “Browser Changer” and tapping the install button. From there, you can more or less bid farewell to Safari.
Pros: User Choice & Cross-Device Consistency
The difference between Chrome and Safari on iOS is subtle: Chrome is the same WebKit-based mobile browser as Safari, just wrapped in a different skin. The Web still loads and feels the same. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t advantages to switching.
The most compelling reason to use Chrome for iOS is if it’s your go-to-browser on the desktop. I fall into that camp. I almost never open Safari on my laptop. So why would I use it on my mobile devices?
Many people use multiple devices throughout the course the day. Apple is aware of this and has begun merging iOS and OS X for a more consistent experience across devices. Microsoft is doing the same with Windows 8 and Windows Phone. These are smart moves. Yet for Chrome users who own iOS devices, Web browsing remains fractured. Jailbreaking fixes that and enables you to sync browsing history and bookmarks from the desktop to your mobile devices. That syncing has been possible ever since Google launched Chrome for iOS, but it becomes useful only once you’ve made Chrome your default browser.
The difference is a wonder to behold. If you tap any bookmarks or links in an email, for example, they will launch in Chrome instead of Safari. Apps with an “Open in Safari” button suddenly offer to “Open in Chrome” as well. In the “Reading” folder on my home screen, I’ve always had a bookmark to Google Reader’s Web app, which is actually pretty good. Tapping that – or any such Web app – now opens Chrome. Meanwhile, if I bookmark URLs on my iPhone, they’re accessible from the desktop. No longer is my browsing experience fractured across devices.
Drawbacks: Reading & Sharing Are Better in Safari
I never knew how addicted to mobile Safari’s ”Reader” button I was until I was forced to live without it. That Instapaper-style function, which strips out the visual junk and presents a clean, reader-friendly layout, turns out to be hugely valuable.
On the desktop, I’ve never noticed Chrome’s lack of this feature because I use a browser extension that mimics Safari’s reader-friendly mode. At this point, I never read anything on the Web longer than 200 words unless it’s stripped down to large, black text on a white background. But iOS browsers don’t support plug-ins and Google hasn’t thought to steal this feature, so I’m trapped in pinch-and-zoom hell. Help!
Other drawbacks to using Chrome as your default iPhone browser are small. If you like to bookmark Web apps to your device’s home screen, you’ll have to launch the URL in Safari to do it. Chrome supports regular bookmarks and sharing pages via email, Twitter, Facebook and (surprise!) Google+, but that’s about it.
Apple Should Stop Treating Us Like Babies
As I’ve previously argued in more thorough detail, it’s time Apple loosened some of these restrictions. In many cases, their strict guidelines are justified, because they lead to a more polished user experience that other platforms can’t rival. It keeps the App Store refreshingly short on spam and junk apps. Thanks, Apple. But seriously, let us choose our own default apps. While Chrome for iOS has a few minor drawbacks (which are largely subjective anyway), there’s nothing about using it as one’s default browser that somehow dilutes the overall experience of using iOS, browsing the Web and jumping from app to app. I know. I’ve been doing it for a few weeks now. For even longer, I’ve been using Sparrow as my default email client and not once have I looked back.
For me, the experience of checking my email and browsing the Web on my iPhone are more aesthetically pleasing and functional than they were before. That’s only true because of actions I took, not because of anything Apple did. There’s a place for restrictions and limitations, but when users start beating Apple at its own game – providing the most attractive, useful and enjoyable experience possible – something is screwed up.
Read: How to Jailbreak Your iPhone, iPad or iPod running iOS 5
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Google Chrome Adds Do Not Track Option
Sep 16th
The company said that the feature, which is still in being tested, would be available as part of the latest ‘Canary’ build of the Chromium. The feature could be included into the general release build of Chrome by the end of the year.
View full post on Search Engine Watch – Latest
Search In Pics: Strawberry Pandas, LEGO Chrome & Street View Paperweight
Sep 7th
In this week’s Search In Pictures, here are the latest images culled from the web, showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have, and more. Google Snack, Strawberry Pandas: Source: Twitter Google Street View Cube:…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
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Chrome for iOS Grabs 1.5% Share of iOS Browser Market
Jul 24th
Looking for new tools that will help you monitor the presence of Google’s Chrome browser on iOS? Well, look no further. Chitika Insights has just released the Chrome iOS Adoption Tracker as the only tool that allows users to track the rate of Chrome adoption in real time! On June 28th, Google announced the availability [...]
View full post on Search Engine Journal
Search In Pics: Marissa Mayers Yahoo Baby Gift & Goodbye Google Balloons, Android Nail Polish & Chrome Hats
Jul 20th
In this week’s Search In Pictures, here are the latest images culled from the web, showing what people eat at the search engine companies, how they play, who they meet, where they speak, what toys they have, and more. Marissa Mayer Goodbye Google Balloons: Source: Instagram Marissa…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
View full post on Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Google Hit With Patent Lawsuit Over Chrome for Mobile Technology
Jul 13th
Google is being sued by California-based EMG, which alleges that Google’s Chrome web browser infringes its patents relating to zooming and scrolling functions. EMG seeks financial damages and to prevent Chrome mobile web browser distribution.
View full post on Search Engine Watch – Latest
Google Introduces Chrome, Drive for iOS
Jun 28th
Day two of the Googles I/O conference in San Francisco saw the introduction of Google Chrome and Drive apps for iOS devices. Google showcased the apps latest features and showed what Google software looks like on an Apple device during the show.
View full post on Search Engine Watch – Latest
Chrome Arrives on iOS. Will Apple Spoil the Party?
Jun 28th
Google delighted many users of its Chrome Web browser today by announcing that a version for Apple’s iPad and iPhone will be in the iTunes App Store later today. In a demo at Google I/O in San Francisco, the company showed off a mobile Chrome that shares many similarities with its desktop counterpart.
Many of the expected features are included, such as tabbed browsing, incognito mode and in-page search, to name a few. The real magic lies in the browser’s ability to sync across devices, something that Google’s Director of Product Management Brian Rakowski demoed in detail. Recognizing that many users browse the Web from a variety of devices, Google allows them to sync tabs, history and login credentials across tablets, smartphones and desktops. The company also announced Google Drive for iOS, which is expected to arrive in the App Store later today.
There are plenty of other third-party browsers available for iOS, but this marks the first time a major desktop browser has landed on Apple’s mobile operating system. Earlier this month, Mozilla demoed an early prototype of an iOS browser called Junior, but it’s nowhere near going live in the App Store. If Microsoft is thinking about making a mobile version of Internet Explorer, it’s not something anybody’s talking about, let alone clamoring for. Chrome, on the other hand, has risen quickly to become one of the most popular Web browsers on the market, and users have been begging for an iOS version for some time.
Will Apple Let Chrome Users Have/Eat Their Cake?
While Chrome for iOS is exciting and long overdue for Chrome users who own iPhones and iPads, the excitement is muted somewhat by the fact that Apple won’t allow third-party iOS browsers to be designated as the default. Users can tap open Chrome on an iPad all they want, but any links they tap in an email or another third-party app will open in Safari. This fractures the Web browsing experience across browsers whether users like it or not.
Some observers, including John Gruber, predict that Chrome’s arrival on iOS will force Apple to rethink this limitation. We certainly hope so. That may well end up happening sooner now, if only because Chrome is a widely used product with a large user base (it’s hard to imagine users of, say, Dolphin storming Cupertino with pitchforks in hand). Chrome has 310 million active users, as Google proudly touted earlier today.
Not too long ago, Apple wouldn’t allow third-party Web browsers on iOS at all. Like other restrictions, that one was slowly relaxed over time. Now alternative browsers are permitted, but they’re all based on the same WebKit rendering engine as Safari. The differences lie in the UI design and user experience, areas in which Safari could be more mind-blowing, to say the least.
In many cases, Apple has legitimate user experience or security reasons for keeping a tight lid on things in iOS. When it comes to using alternative Web browsers, though, the company is running out of excuses.
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Google I/O: Google Releasing Chrome For iPad and iPhone Today
Jun 28th
On Tuesday at the second I/O keynote, Google’s Brian Rakowski showed off Chrome for iPhone and iPad, which will be available in the App Store later today. It syncs all tabs, login credentials, searches and browsing history with Chrome on other devices.
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