14 DAY TRIAL // There's plenty to like about the upcoming Android 3.0 Honeycomb, especially if you're looking for an alternative to the ubiquitous iPad. The revamped UI, better APIs for developers, video chat and plenty of other new feature are great, but one thing in particular should be getting those spending a lot of time on the web excited, the revamped browser which is becoming more like Chrome with each release.
The browser in Honeycomb is no exception, it adds tabs and a navigation interface that seem to be plucked straight from Chrome and it even syncs with the desktop browser.
That's not to say it's a bad thing, just by what we know so far it's clear that it's the best native browser for Android to date, by a big margin. And those that have managed to get some hands-on with it confirm that it's a great improvement.
Tabbed browsing
The most obvious new feature is the new tabbed browsing interface. While the Android browser does support multiple windows, you have to go through the menu to switch between them, not the fastest nor the most intuitive design.
The space constraints on smartphones are a good excuse for the lack of tabs, though most third-party web browsers for Android have them in one form or another.
The redesigned UI is very similar to Chrome
But since Honeycomb was designed with tablets in mind, the tabs don't really take up that much room and are a great addition. The tabs look pretty much the same as they do in Chrome and there's even a "+" sign to open a new one.
In fact, the entire navigation UI is a replica of Chrome, including the back, forward and reload buttons, the address bar and the bookmarks star button at the other end. What is different though is the search button and the bookmarks manager button.
Bookmark and data sync with Chrome
Speaking of bookmarks, you can now sync them with Google Chrome along with other data currently supported by Chrome sync. This should be a great addition for those switching between browsers and devices on a regular basis.
Private browsing - incognito mode
Interestingly enough, the Preferences page looks very similar to the new in-tab Settings page in Chrome. Of course, that's true for most menus in Honeycomb. Another Chrome feature landing in the Android browser is support for Private Browsing.
The Android browser is based on WebKit and Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine
The Android browser has always used the WebKit rendering engine, same as Chrome. To be fair, WebKit is now used by quite a few mobile or desktop browsers including Safari on iOS.
In Android 2.2, the Chrome V8 JavaScript engine was added as well, arguably the second most important component after the web rendering engine.
Technically, the Android Browser isn't Chrome, but with so much in common, it looks like the two browsers are on a colliding path. Chrome is already running on Android, in Google TV devices.