14 DAY TRIAL // Google has been providing a steady string of updates to Chrome OS users, the lucky few that have gotten their hands on the free Cr-48 devices Google has been handing out. The very latest brings a lot of fixes and some new features, but it also fixes one of the biggest and definitely the most irritating, the erratic trackpad.
"The Chrome OS Beta channel has been updated to R10 release 0.10.156.46 including the new Chrome 10 Beta, new trackpad and several stability and functional improvements over the previous release," Josafat Garcia, from the Google Chrome team, announced.
Of course, another major advancement in the latest Chrome OS beta is the beta build of Chrome 10 along with all of the new features and improvements it brings.
Here are some of the Chrome OS specific fixes and improvements Google chose to highlight:
· 3G modem activation fixes; · 3G connection to the carrier fixes; · Wi-Fi connectivity/Out of the Box fixes; · New trackpad and sensitivity setting adjusted; · Auto update engine and debugging improvements; · Power optimizations; · GTalk video/chat optimizations; · Audio CPU utilization improvements; · Improved on screen indicators: brightness, network status, update icon.
The trackpad on Cr-48 devices has been heavily criticized and was one of the biggest complaints most people had about the device which reflected bad on the operating system as well.
Reports indicate that, with the update, the trackpad still doesn't behave or perform as well as on other devices, but it's a major improvement nonetheless.
Apart from these improvements, the new Chrome 10 Beta which now powers Chrome OS comes with plenty to like. One thing that Cr-48 users are likely to notice even more than others is the big JavaScript performance boost.
Chrome 10 is the fastest release to date, in this aspect, by a huge margin, it provides a 66 percent boost in the V8 Benchmarking Suite from Chrome 9. On an underpowered device like the Cr-48 netbook which depends heavily on web apps Gmail, Docs and so on.