Hasta La Gadget!

Opera’s no stranger to the mobile web, as it’s been building browsers for phones and tablets for years. Today, however, it’s revealing an all-new window to the web called Coast. Coast’s been constructed specifically for the iPad and seeks to make browsing the internet feel the same as using an app. What’s that mean? Well, for starters, a series of swipe-able home screens and a tile-based UI that makes all your favorite websites look like icons. Also, Coast wholly does away with browser chrome, instead showing just content, with only small home and history buttons residing beneath whatever page you’re viewing. Navigation forward and back’s accomplished by swiping, and a customizable search bar sits atop your favorites. Essentially, Coast aims to be simple to use and to deliver web content in an unobtrusive, elegant way.

When launched, Coast shows you a tiled grid of favorites, and you can set the number of tiles you see per screen (the default is nine). Adding a new site’s as easy as dragging and dropping it onto one of the home screens. Upon returning to home from a site, the icon tile of that last-visited page shows up beneath your favorites, so you can make it stick around permanently by sliding it up to join your other bookmarks. Coast also takes a page from the webOS playbook by providing your browsing history as a series of panes that are tapped for access or swiped upwards to be deleted. And, Opera has, of course, thought to secure the browser, too. Coast is backed by a security engine that constantly consults an online database of unsafe sites — stray into a nasty corner of the internet, and Coast strings police tape across the page and warns you of the danger. You can also view the security and reputation of any given site by tapping the history button, then swiping down from the bottom of the webpage to reveal such info. Want to know how Coast came to be? Join us after the break to find out.%Gallery-slideshow83434%

Filed under: Tablets, Internet, Software

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The Chrome 30 beta has one of the longer lists of new features we’ve seen from the browser in quite some time. One of the most immediately visible will be a new option to search by image when you right-click or long-press on one. It’ll use your default search provider to perform the task, but chances are you’ll be using Google’s own top-notch photo-mining service. The Android edition is also revamping its various gestures to make them easier to perform and lessen the chance of accidentally triggering them. Now all the gestures are performed in the top tool bar: swipe left or right to switch tabs, down from the middle to initiate the tab selector or down from the upper right-hand corner to open the menu.

As if that wasn’t enough, the back-end tech is getting a slew of new features on both the desktop and mobile sides. The Android version of the Chrome beta now supports WebGL, the MediaSource API and DeviceMotion, for making use of the accelerometer in the browser. MediaSource is particularly useful for generating dynamic streams of content that can adjust bit-rates on the fly, based on the quality of the connection. On the desktop, a load of new APIs have been added to the Chrome App framework, including support for in-app payments and downloads. WebRTC and speech recognition have also received improvements across all platforms. You can find out more details at the source and download the new Chrome beta at the more coverage links below.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Google

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Source: Chromium Blog, Chrome Blog

Those with a hearty level of respect for beta builds have been enjoying these spoils for weeks now, but Google has today seen fit to push Chrome 29 and a refreshed Chrome for Android out to rest of us. Effective right now, Chrome 29 users on the desktop will see “improvements to omnibox suggestions based on the recency of websites visited, resulting in more timely and contextually relevant suggestions.” Interestingly, Google has also added a “Reset browser settings” option for those who end up going a bit overboard with extensions; thankfully, waving the aforesaid white flag won’t impact your themes, apps or bookmarks.

On the mobile front, Chrome on Android is being updated with improved scrolling and startup performance, as well as WebRTC support that will enable video conversation directly in the browser without a plugin. Yeah, we thought you’d dig that.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile, Google

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Source: Google Chrome Blog, Google Play Store

Let’s get this straight. Yahoo can afford to kill a dozen products at once, but the Yahoo Toolbar — a relic from the days when only birds Twittered — just got a full makeover? Go figure. At least the browser add-on has received the same sort of tender loving care given to other recent Yahoo apps, including a fresh look, speed improvements and Chrome support. If you rely heavily on Yahoo services, or just have trouble letting go of the past, the toolbar update is available today.

Filed under: Internet, Software

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Via: Yahoo (Tumblr)

Source: Yahoo Toolbar

Amazon made a big deal out of the Silk browser when it launched, but we’ve heard little about this particular brainchild after that. Now, nearly a year after the Trending Now section was introduced, the company has unleashed its first major update. We’re talking about a complete redesign that begins with a mini-tutorial the moment you launch the updated browser. Opening a tab brings its new start page populated with your most visited websites and address bar. The bookmarks and browsing history that used to live here? They’ve shifted to a menu section in the hidden left panel. Speaking of bookmarks, you can now view them in either list or grid forms; if you decide to fire up a few URLs, the updated tabs’ more rounded design could make switching between them easier. A smattering of other interface and under-the-hood changes also come with the new Silk — the question is: will they be enough to push it past the remaining mobile browser contenders?

Filed under: Tablets, Internet, Amazon

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Amazon Silk