14 DAY TRIAL // The latest Google Chrome build, 4.0.249.30, has just been upgraded to the Beta channel on all platforms. This new beta release is an important milestone as it marks the first betas available for both Mac and Linux users which have been waiting more than a year to get to try a fully-baked Chrome on their machines. The biggest news for existing users though is the new Extensions Gallery which also went live along with the beta releases. The beta versions for the two platforms and full extensions support were the three most requested features the Chrome development team received.
For those who have been checking out the dev channel releases the Beta doesn't bring any surprises and is very similar to the builds we've been seeing for the past couple of weeks with just a few bug fixes. This was to be expected, as the team worked to get the browser to beta quality and focused on bug fixing and stability rather than new features. If you've been running any of the 4.0.249.xx builds, you basically already have the beta installed.
If you're updating from the latest beta version which launched more than a month ago, the latest beta comes with quite a few bug and stability fixes, but not so much in terms of features apart from a couple of new HTML 5 features.
However, this latest launch is a big one as it marks the start of a brand new phase on Chrome development. Being available on all major platforms should really help with user numbers growth and was an important milestone in Google's plan to make the web faster and more accessible to the users. Finally, with extensions support built-in and the Gallery now live, the last major hurdle in mainstream adoption is no more.
With Chrome OS coming out next year and Chrome the browser now available on all platforms, we should see some pretty interesting shifts in the browser market in the next few years. And with Firefox looking more dated with every new Chrome release, Mozilla has to step up its game and Firefox 4 should better be a major leap forward if it wants to keep its lead.
Google Chrome Beta 4.0.249.30 for Windows is available for download here.