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Topic: Smartphones

Android quietly partners up with Chrome

Summary: The new version of Android, Jelly Bean, includes numerous new features and one of them is making Google's Chrome its new default Web browser. Chrome is also now available for Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich. UPDATED 4:30 Eastern with ICS release.

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

By for Networking |

Look closely on the bottom left of the display and you will see Chrome on Android,

Look closely on the bottom left of the display and you'll see Chrome on Android,

It took them look enough, but with the next release of Android, Jelly Bean, Google has finally brought its Chrome Web browser to Android.

Google brought its popular Chrome Web browser to Android Ice Cream Sandwich as a beta feature earlier this year. Today, at Google Input/Output, Google quietly showed that Chrome will now be built into Jelly Bean.

Of course, getting your hands on Jelly Bean, like any new version of Android, depends on your vendor. Jelly Bean itself won't arrive on anyone's phone—except for developers—until mid July. The first device to include Chrome is the brand new Asus Google Nexus 7.

You can, however, if you're running Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, get the shipping version of Chrome for Android today. You can't--darn it!--run it on any version of Android before 4.0.

In the future, however, if the phone companies co-operate, we may see up-to-date versions of Android, and Chrome on our smartphones and tablets sooner. That's because Google will be releasing Platform Development Kits (PDKs) to let hardware vendors get up to speed quicker with new versions of Android. This may also calm down original equipment manufacturers (OEM)s who have been worried that Google, now that it owns Motorola, might try to pull a Microsoft Surface and leave the OEMs in the lurch.

In addition the PDKs will make it much easier for the OEMs and phone companies to get up-to-date Android, with the Chrome Web browser, into our hands sooner. And, that, I think every Android user will agree, will be a big win.

Related Stories:

Google's Android 4.1 Jelly Bean: Sign of dev maturity, market share

Google Nexus 7 tablet specs revealed Google's tablet strategy: Follow, follow, follow Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean": Another update most will never see Chrome 19: The Best Web browser just keeps getting better

Topics: Smartphones, Android, Google, Hardware, Laptops, Mobile OS, Mobility, Security, Tablets

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12 comments
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  • What?

    Two Google Products Partnering up like this? Wow that is a shock!

    Funny how you say this is great but you are one of the most vocal complaining when Microsoft Partners its browser with its products.
    bobiroc
    Reply 2 Votes

    • That is because....

      Microsoft is evil and Google is as pure as the newly fallen snow (unless it fell in Jersey).
      Test Subject
      Reply 2 Votes

    • Did he say it was a surprise?

      And come to think of it, I find IE very convenient for initially downloading the browser I really want (Firefox). After that, I just allow Windows to use IE however it wants, but don't use it directly.
      John L. Ries
      Reply Vote

  • Google Chrome on Adroid

    Is no bueno. No plugins. No flash. No addons. No Adblock, still have to root the phone to keep ads from showing. None for me thanks. Dolphin is still much better.
    txscott
    Reply 1 Vote

    • Dolphin Browser

      I had Dolphin but found it to be somewhat "heavy" but very good. I have since move to a new browser called Ninesky (9-sky or Niniski). It's based on chromium and it is very "light" and has decent features.
      penlite
      Reply Vote

  • Google gets no credit

    After all the fragmentation complaints, google finally releases android updates through the PDK to OEMs. That is a huge step.
    kingcobra23
    Reply Vote

  • Chrome "now" available?

    I installed Chrome on ICS months ago, on both my phone & tablet... Not sure why you're saying that Chrome is only "now" available on ICS, when it has been for quite some time. It may not have been the default browser, but it was still easily installable from Google Play.
    lindsaytheflint
    Reply 1 Vote

    • Now

      Well, it's out of Beta now, so that's something.
      dsf3g
      Reply Vote

      • LOL They are not called the "Beta Company" for nothing ... LOL {NT}

        ...
        TheBottomLineIsAllThatMatters
        Reply Vote

  • We will push billions of Android/Linux devices to this great big world...

    ... and leave Apple and Microsoft wondering how and why their sandcastles were falling down. The reason was lower price of Linux platform, flexibility, compatibility, security, stability huge amount of applications...

    Linux and FLOSS are the future of IT world, not that old and tired proprietary, patent troll ecosystems of Apple and Redmond.
    Matsi66
    Reply Vote

    • Open Source OSs

      If open source OSs are the way forward, why isn't Linux available pre-loaded on laptops at the stores? Why do people stick with Nicrosoft and Apple and Google?
      Is it because they like those products?
      They seem to buy enough of them..
      I like Windows and Android OSs.
      They need slimmed down, have the coding tightened up and made more efficient, have every internet connection covered security wise, be innately secure in build, intuitive to use and interconnectable easily.

      I'm not an iSlave, but I wouldn't use any OS bar Windows on my laptop, my Tablet runs Android which gives me the functionality I want and ditto on my smartphone.

      I wouldn't even think of Open Source OSs - what needs would they serve that aren't already served by Google, Microsoft and Apple?
      Antaine O'Labhradha
      Reply Vote

  • Chrome? Who needs it?

    I have tried Chrome on my Android 4.04 tablet. It is fast, but that is all that I see to like admit it. My choice though is Dolphin with the Jet Pack. This is not only just about as fast as Chrome, but is amazingly adaptive. The features available blow your mind.
    Robert Christopulos
    Reply Vote
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