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Google’s Chrome browser is out for iOS devices, with unlimited tabs, incognito mode and syncing across devices just a few of the tasty treats in store.
Available to download now for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, the browser lets you sign in with your Google account, giving you access to all your bookmarks and open tabs, and the ability to send pages from your computer to your iOS gadgets.
You can have as many tabs open as you like — on the iPhone and iPod touch you swipe through them vertically like a deck of cards, swiping tabs to the side to close them.
On the larger iPad, you move through tabs by swiping from the sides of the tablet. Incognito mode is also on board to browse without saving your history, for when you need to, er, buy a surprise gift… for a loved one… who shares the same phone as you.
My first impressions are that the Chrome app feels very fast, and that the option to open as many tabs as you like is going to come in very handy. An option to close all tabs is a blessed relief too.
There’s one downside — you can’t set Chrome as a default browser. So when other apps give you the option to open something in a web browser, everything will default to Apple’s own Safari app. As well as being infuriating, that’s going to make it tricky for those trying Chrome for the first time to stick with it.
Google Drive for iOS has also gone live, but seems to be a little less impressive — while you can view all the files and docs you have stored, but there’s no editing unfortunately, and you can’t upload files. It does let you save files for offline viewing, however, and you could use it as a very easy way to get videos or photos from your computer to your phone.
What’s your favourite browser? Let me know in the comments or on our Facebook wall.
