Diigo Brings Chrome Style Web Browsing to the iPad

Friday, June 3, 2011

Diigo Brings Chrome Style Web Browsing to the iPad

I tend to use native Mac apps when they exist because they tend to be the best. But as far as browsers go, I’ve preferred Chrome over Safari for a while. Diigo Inc. has just released a free browser on the iPad that claims to mimic Chrome’s speed and interface.

Given the screenshots of iChromy, it possesses many of the interface features that Chrome does. The tabs on top (probably the most noticeable feature of Chrome), single bar for addresses and searches, and the star next to the bar for bookmarking stand out loudly as a Chrome experience on the iPad. Other features that aren’t necessarily Chrome-like but are features of the browser nonetheless include an automatically hiding address bar, an offline reading list, sharing to various services and social networking sites, and the ability to open a link in a new tab.

For a free browser, an offline reading list feature may excite people who want an Instapaper-like experience without dishing out the $4.99 for the app on their iPad. But for those who prefer Instapaper (like me), it’s one of the sharing options available in the app. Other sharing features include Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and more.

iChromy was released only a few days ago, but their app description already lists future features and bug fixes coming out in the next version. This suggests that the developers at Diigo are making iChromy a priority and we can expect additional features and support of iChromy in the future. Features coming with the next release are a .com button for the on-screen keyboard and auto-scrolling top the top of the page when tapping the status bar at the top. The description also lists a bug fix and the promise of “other features.” Grab iChromy while it’s free, who knows if it’ll stay that way.