14 DAY TRIAL // Google Chrome 7 just landed, in experimental form at least, and already we're seeing some of the great new features you can expect from the next version of the Google browser.
The latest Chromium build introduced a couple of very nice features. The placeholder for the Chrome Web Store is unsurprising, but the vertical tabs and the "tab overview" feature are certainly interesting. Both of these features are available in the new "about:labs" section.
Chromium is the open source browser on which Google Chrome is based on and is the first place where new features and changes land.
"Tabpose is currently the only lab on mac, tabs-on-left the only lab on windows. Nothing for linux yet," the description for the new feature in the Chromium source code repository reads.
"Go to about:labs. Should have one feature on windows and osx each, none on linux yet. about:labs should not be visible on the stable channel. Labs that were enabled on the dev channel should not be enabled on the stable channel. about:labs in chromeos should still work (they use a different implementation)," the explanation continues.
The first noticeable new feature is the Chrome Web Store app in the New Tab page. Right now it's just a placeholder and redirects users to the Chrome extensions gallery, where the Web Store will eventually reside.
However, the fun stuff is available in the Labs section. If you're using Windows you should be seeing the "Tabs on the left" experiment. If you enable it you can then switch to this layout, which should come in handy for widescreen monitors, by right-clicking on any tab and selecting "Use side tabs."
If you're a Mac user you'll get the "Tab Overview" experiment which enables you to view your current tabs in a manner similar to the Mac OS X Expose. Linux users are out of luck for now.
The Chrome Labs section is very much what the Labs feature in other Google products is. It's a place for experimental features and tools that aren't stable enough for wider use or are of interest to only a smaller part of the users. [via GoogleOS]