Moments ago, at a planned media event, Google gave users a peak into the future of the Chrome web browser and provided further details on the Chrome Web Store.
Sundar Pichai, Google’s VP of Project Management, started the conference with a quick recap of the current Chrome browser. Mr. Pichai noted that his company’s browser now has over 120 million active users — a feat which he credits to the browsers speed and versatility. The Chrome team then detailed several new features coming to Chrome in the near future, including: Google Instant in the Chrome address bar (or the omnibox as it is formally known), improved speed in the built-in PDF reader, and WebGL integration. The fun didn’t stop there however. Sundar went on to mention that the Chrome web browser team is laser-focused on speed, simplicity, and security. To help users experience speed, Google is adding a new Javascript engine supplement called “Crankshaft.” Crankshaft can make the current V8 JS engine up to 2x faster. Simplicity can be found in the browsers bare-bones layout and security is achieved through seamless automatic updating and sand-boxing.
From there, the conversation shifted to Google’s Chrome Web Store. According to Google, the Chrome Web Store is aimed at discovery. Filled with both applications and games, the Web Store will allow users to easily browse, research, and purchase apps that provide added utility and functionality to the web experience. The store will allow developers to offer trials of their paid applications and all payments will be handled by Google Checkout. NPR, the New York Times, Amazon, and EA Games all had applications demoed at today’s event.
We’ll be sure to update this post when the press releases go live.
UPDATE: The official press release that coincides with today’s announcements can be found here.
