14 DAY TRIAL // Google is moving closer and closer to the release of the next major iteration of its open source browser. A new testing Build of Google Chrome has been made available for download to early adopters. v7.0 is the Stable version of Chrome at this point in time, but this aspect is bound to change by the end of the year.
Google has been working on version 8.0 of Chrome for some time now, and is now releasing very small incremental new Builds, signaling that the launch of Chrome 7.0’s successor is extremely close.
“The Chrome Beta channel has been updated to 8.0.552.210 for Windows and Chrome Frame,” revealed Jason Kersey, from the Google Chrome team.
Last week, the Chrome Beta channel had been updated to Build 8.0.552.208 for Mac OS X and Linux testers.
Version 8.0.552.210 is the same release, but this time aimed at early adopters that are running Chrome on top of Windows.
“This release contains a number of stability and UI improvements,” Kersey added.
As I’ve already said, it sounds like the Mountain View-based search giant is polishing Chrome 8.0 in preparation for the official launch.
If Google manages to stick to its release schedule, Chrome 8.0 Final should drop approximately six weeks after the advent of Chrome 7.0
This means that users could get to download and install Chrome 8.0 in December 2010. Of course, as Google Chrome testers are used to, the search giant is not lingering, and has already began work on the successor of Chrome 8.0.
Builds of Chrome 9.0 are currently available for download not only through the Dev Channel, but also as Canary releases and Chromium bits.
Of course, all Chrome 8.0 and Chrome 9.0 represent pre-release milestones at this point in time. As such, they come with inherent problems and should not be used for daily browsing, but only in testing environments.
Google Chrome for Windows is available for download here.
Google Chrome for Linux is available for download here.
Google Chrome for Mac is available for download here.