Searching on the go, made even simpler

Chrome for Android, improved search and fullscreen browsing

Today’s Chrome for Android stable update, now available on Google Play, makes searching on the go even simpler. You can now see your search queries in the omnibox instead of the long search URL, so you can easily refine them and view more results.

To make browsing the mobile web even easier, web pages also display in fullscreen on phones. As you scroll, the top toolbar disappears so you can immerse yourself in the web page content. When you scroll up, the toolbar returns so you can get on to the next thing.

Chrome for iPhone and iPad, with voice search (coming soon)

Over the coming days, we’re rolling out an update for iPhone and iPad as well. You can now speak your searches into the omnibox. Touch the microphone, say your search query aloud and see your results (in some cases spoken back to you), all without typing a single letter. Try these queries with the update (coming soon to the App Store):

• “How many miles from San Antonio to Dallas?”
• “What’s the weather in Rome?”
• “Who stars in The Internship?”

This update also enables faster reloading of web pages by using the cache more efficiently when the network is slow, which is especially useful when you’re on the go. Finally, other iOS apps can now give you the option to open links in Chrome and then return to the app with just one tap.

We look forward to your feedback on the latest versions of Chrome for Android and iOS.

Posted by Yusuf Ozuysal and Milan Broum, Minimalist & Vocal Software Engineers

Every second counts

Last month’s Chrome Beta release contained optimizations so that web pages load 5% faster on average. We’ve included those optimizations in today’s Chrome Stable release so all users will enjoy a faster browsing experience.

A 5% improvement may not seem like much by itself, but our estimates show that when you add up those saved seconds across all Chrome users, it totals to more than 510 years of people’s time saved every week.

Want to make that number even bigger? Download Chrome today.

Posted by James Simonsen, Software Engineer and Saver of Split Seconds

Live from Google I/O: Mo’ screens, mo’ goodness

[Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog]

This morning, we kicked off the 6th annual Google I/O developer conference with over 6,000 developers at Moscone Center in San Francisco, 460 I/O Extended sites in 90 countries, and millions of you around the world who tuned in via our livestream. Over the next three days, we’ll be hosting technical sessions, hands-on code labs, and demonstrations of Google's products and partners' technology.

We believe computing is going through one of the most exciting moments in its history: people are increasingly adopting phones, tablets and newer type of devices. And this spread of technology has the potential to make a positive impact in the lives of people around the world—whether it's simply helping you in your daily commute, or connecting you to information that was previously inaccessible.

This is why we focus so much on our two open platforms: Android and Chrome. They enable developers to innovate and reach as many people as possible with their apps and services across multiple devices. Android started as a simple idea to advance open standards on mobile; today it is the world’s leading mobile platform and growing rapidly. Similarly, Chrome launched less than five years ago from an open source project; today it’s the world’s most popular browser.

In line with that vision, we made several announcements today designed to give developers even more tools to build great apps on Android and Chrome. We also shared new innovations from across Google meant to help make life just a little easier for you, including improvements in search, communications, photos, and maps.

Here’s a quick look at some of the announcements we made at I/O:

• Android & Google Play: In addition to new developer tools, we unveiled Google Play All Access, a monthly music subscription service with access to millions of songs that joins our music store and locker; and the Google Play game services with real-time multiplayer and leaderboards. Also, coming next month to Google Play is a special Samsung Galaxy S4, which brings together cutting edge hardware from Samsung with Google’s latest software and services—including the user experience that ships with our popular Nexus devices.
• Chrome: With over 750 million active users on Chrome, we’re now focused on bringing to mobile the speed, simplicity and security improvements that we’ve seen on the desktop. To that end, today we previewed next-generation video codec VP9 for faster video-streaming performance; the requestAutocomplete API for faster payments; and Chrome Experiments such as "A Journey Through Middle Earth" and Racer to demonstrate the ability to create immersive mobile experiences not possible in years past.
• Google+: We unveiled the newly designed Google+, which helps you easily explore content as well dramatically improve your online photo experience to give you crisp, beautiful photos—without the work! We also upgraded Google+ Hangouts—our popular group video application—to help bring all of your real-life conversations online, across any device or platform, and with groups of up to 10 friends.
• Search: Search has evolved considerably in recent years: it can now have a real conversation with you, and even make your day a bit smoother by predicting information you might need. Today we added the ability to set reminders by voice and we previewed “spoken answers” on laptops and desktops in Chrome—meaning you can ask Google a question and it will speak the answer back to you.
• Maps: Today we previewed the next generation of Google Maps, which gets rid of any clutter in order to put your individual experience and exploration front and center. Each time you click or search, our technology draws you a tailored map that highlights the information you need. From design to directions, the new Google Maps is smarter and more useful.

Technology can have a profound, positive impact on the daily lives of billions of people. But we can’t do this alone—developers play a crucial role. I/O is our chance to come together and thank you for everything you do.

Posted by Sundar Pichai, SVP, Android, Chrome & Apps

Access Google Keep with the new Chrome app

[Cross-posted from the Google Drive Blog]

Last month, Google Keep launched to help you quickly jot down ideas and keep track of things while on the go with your Android device or on the web. Today, with the launch of a new Chrome app, Google Keep is even easier to access on your computer using Chrome.

The Google Keep Chrome app launches in its own window, so you can create notes, cross out your to-do lists, and attach photos to tasks while you work on other things. And if you don’t have an internet connection, don’t fret: the Chrome app works offline because we all know that ideas (big and small) can be sparked at any time.

You can visit the Chrome Web Store to add the app today (use the link, you won’t find it in search)!

Happy note taking!

Posted by Eddy Mead, Software Engineer and Talented Task Tracker

A speedy, more secure way to view Microsoft Office files directly in Chrome

If you use a Chromebook, you’ve already been enjoying the ability to open Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files directly in your browser. Starting today, we’re excited to bring this same functionality to Chrome on Windows and Mac.

If you’re running Chrome Beta on Windows or Mac and install the Chrome Office Viewer (Beta) extension, you’ll be able to click a link to an Office file and open it directly in Chrome.

In addition to saving you time, the Chrome Office Viewer also protects you from malware delivered via Office files. Just like with web pages and PDFs, we’ve added a specialized sandbox to impede attackers who use compromised Office files to try to steal private information or monitor your activities.

To give it a try on Windows or Mac:

• Get Chrome Beta
• Install the Chrome Office Viewer (Beta) extension
• Start clicking your favorite Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint slides on the web

Since this extension is still in beta, we’d love to get your feedback. When you find issues, please click the “Report an issue” button while viewing the file to report a bug.

Posted by Jelte Liebrand, Software Engineer and Document Dynamo

More improvements for Chrome at the office

You probably use a browser throughout the day to access useful information, stay connected with people, and run web apps -- at work, at home and on the go. However, browser choice at the office may be determined by your company’s IT team. Today we’re making it easier for companies everywhere to choose Chrome for Business.

First of all, your IT administrator can now configure Chrome to automatically launch an alternate browser when you’re running a web app built for older browsers. If you want to use Chrome at work but rely on some older apps, you can now switch seamlessly between two browsers.

Secondly, if your company runs Google Apps for Business or Education, your administrator can easily set up default apps, browser themes, bookmarks, and more than 100 other settings to sync across all employees’ computers. On your personal laptop at home but need to find that company-wide TPS report cover sheet? No problem -- just sign in to Chrome with your work account.

If you want to enjoy the security, speed, and productivity of Chrome at the office, invite your IT team to learn more about these improvements on the Google Enterprise blog.

Posted by Cyrus Mistry, Product Manager and Business Buff

More immersive mobile web

More content, less chrome - on mobile too

Today’s update to Chrome Beta for Android and Chrome for iPhone and iPad brings you more web and less chrome. We’ve heard your feedback, and now web pages can display in fullscreen on phones, which is especially handy on smaller screens. As you scroll down a web page and immerse yourself in the content, the top toolbar disappears. When you scroll up, the toolbar returns so you can get on to the next thing.

Chrome for iPhone and iPad, hassle-free printing

Ever wished you could print that boarding pass or offer from your phone? You can now print from Chrome to printers enabled with Google Cloud Print or AirPrint, as well as save a page to Google Cloud Print.

Chrome Beta for Android, simpler and more efficient browsing

As another step towards simpler browsing, you can now see your search terms in the omnibox, instead of the long search URL and the in-page Google search box. This frees up room to view more search results and makes it easier to change your search terms.

You can also now see your data savings from the experimental data compression feature we introduced in our last Beta update. From this release onwards, go to “Bandwidth Management” in Settings and enable “Reduce Data Usage,” and you’re all set.

We’re also continuing to add plenty of under-the-hood stability, security improvements and bug fixes to Chrome for both Android and iOS. We look forward to your feedback on the latest versions of Chrome, now available in the App Store and on Google Play (use the link, you won't find it in search)!

Posted by Ted Choc and Eric Noyau, Particularly Panoramic Programmers