Chrome for Android tipped to come out of beta ‘in weeks’
updated 07:40 pm EDT, Tue April 24, 2012
Chrome for Android nearing final release
Google’s Chrome browser for Android is tipped to come out of beta ‘in weeks,’ reports CNET. Google’s senior VP of Chrome and Apps, Sundar Pichai, revealed as much in an interview following the recent release of an update for the version currently still in beta. According to Pichai, his team of software engineers is addressing outstanding issues following the beta 2 release.
‘We launched beta 2. We addressed a few things,’ said Pichai. ‘Mainly right now, I'm driven by bug quality and stability. We are triaging, tracking, and trying to make it very stable. It is in a matter of weeks.’
A mobile version of Google’s popular desktop browser had long been a mysterious absence from the platform until its arrival in February. However, a major drawback of the Chrome browser is that it works only for Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) devices, and presumably higher. The vast majority of Android users continue to run Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) with devices running ICS still relatively scarce despite a release last October.
The proposed timing for the completion of the Chrome browser for Android appears to align with Google I/O, the company’s annual software developer event. Speculation also places the launch of the next major revision of Android to be announced at the event, which is being referred to as Android 5.0 (Jelly Bean).
