Google on Tuesday announced the first beta release of its Chrome Web browser for Android-powered smartphones and tablets. The firm’s native Web browser is certainly among the better mobile Web browsers on the market, but with Chrome, Google is focused on aligning its mobile browsing experience more closely with its desktop browser. “Like the desktop version, Chrome for Android Beta is focused on speed and simplicity, but it also features seamless sign-in and sync so you can take your personalized web browsing experience with you wherever you go, across devices,” Sundar Pichai, Google’s SVP of Chrome and Apps, wrote in a post on the company’s blog. Chrome for Android is available immediately as a free download in the Android Market and it is compatible with smartphones and tablets running Android 4.0 or later. An introductory video from Google follows below.

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Mozilla on Tuesday released the latest version of its Firefox browser. In addition to allowing users to run full-screen apps, Firefox 10 offers the following enhancements:

• The forward button is now hidden until you navigate back.
• Most add-ons are now compatible with new versions of Firefox by default.
• Anti-Aliasing for WebGL is now implemented.
• CSS3 3D-Transforms are now supported.

Mozilla also made some HTML5 changes and noted two bug fixes. The company said that it has fixed a Java-related crash, which Mac OS X users experienced in earlier versions, as well as a crash related to moving bookmarks. Firefox 10 is available immediately as a free download.

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Google’s Chrome 15 browser is now the most popular browser build in the world. New data from StatCounter suggests that Chrome 15 recently reached a total global market share of 23.6% compared to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 market share of 23.5%. Internet Explorer still has the largest global market share if you combine all versions of the browser, however. While Chrome 15 may be more popular on a global scale, that’s still not the case here at home in the United States where it had an 18.1% market share as of December 5th, while Internet Explorer 8 had a 27% share. ”Looking at the daily stats, Chrome 14 and 15 have been overtaking IE8 at weekends since the beginning of October,” StatCounter CEO Aodhan Cullen said. ”However, Chrome 15 overtook IE8 for the first time during the five day working week, in [the] week commencing [December 5th]. It looks as if people favor Chrome on weekends at home but office commercial use has now caught up.” The full press release from StatCounter follows below.

Chrome 15 Becomes World’s Most Popular Browser

• Free web analytics company reports IE 8 still leads in US but Chrome 15 is number one in UK

Boston, USA; Dublin, Ireland; Thursday, 15th December, 2011: Google’s Chrome 15 has become the most popular web browser version worldwide for the first time on a weekly basis, according to StatCounter, the free website analytics company. The firm’s research arm StatCounter Global Stats reports that in the last full week in November, Chrome 15 took 23.6% of the worldwide market compared to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 at 23.5%. If one aggregates all versions then IE still leads the global market with Chrome in second position, having overtaken Firefox in November.

“Google announced Chrome for business exactly a year ago and IT administrators appear to have embraced it in a remarkably short time,” commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. “Looking at the daily stats, Chrome 14 and 15 have been overtaking IE8 at weekends since the beginning of October. However, Chrome 15 overtook IE8 for the first time during the five day working week, in week commencing 5th December. It looks as if people favour Chrome on weekends at home but office commercial use has now caught up.”

In the US Internet Explorer 8 continues to be the most popular browser version with 27.0% for week commencing 5th December compared to 18.1% for Chrome 15. However, in the UK Chrome 15 overtook IE8 in the week commencing November 7th. Last week (commencing 5th December) Chrome 15 had 24.7% in the UK compared to IE8 on 21.1%.

StatCounter Global Stats are based on aggregate data collected on a sample exceeding 15 billion page views per month (4 billion from the US) from the StatCounter network of more than three million websites.

As well as free web research, StatCounter (http://statcounter.com/) provides free web analytics. This allows website owners, developers and bloggers to capture valuable intelligence on their site in real time including number of visitors, visitors by country/region, search terms, popular pages, download stats, exit links and other data.

In September StatCounter announced its new website with added features.

Google’s Chrome web browser surpassed Mozilla’s Firefox in global browser market share for the first time ever in November. Research firm StatCounter found that Chrome’s market share during the month was 25.69%, up 4.66% from last November, and that Firefox’s share was a hair lower at 25.33% during the month. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer maintained its lead with 40.63%. ”Our stats measure actual browser usage, not downloads, so while Chrome has been highly effective in ensuring downloads our stats show that people are actually using it to access the web also,” StatCounter CEO Aodjan Cullen said. Internet Explorer remains the top browser in the United States with a 50.66% share. Firefox is the second most popular browser in the U.S. with a 20.09% share, down from 26.75% in November last year, and Chrome is the third most popular browser with a 17.3% share, up from 10.89% last year. Net Applications, another research firm, published similar results on Thursday. By its numbers, Internet Explorer had a 52.64% share in November, followed by Firefox (22.14%), Chrome (18.18%) and Safari (5%). StatCounter’s full press release follows after the break. 

Chrome Overtakes Firefox Globally for First Time

Free web analytics company reports that Internet Explorer still leads despite falling market share

Boston, USA; Dublin, Ireland; Thursday, 1st December, 2011: Google’s browser Chrome overtook Firefox for the first time globally on a monthly basis in November, according to StatCounter, the free website analytics company. The firm’s research arm StatCounter Global Statsreports that Chrome took 25.69% of the worldwide market (up from 4.66% in November 2009) compared to Firefox’s 25.23%. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer still maintains a strong lead globally with 40.63%.

“We can look forward to a fascinating battle between Microsoft and Google as the pace of growth of Chrome suggests that it will become a real rival to Internet Explorer globally,” commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. “Our stats measure actual browser usage, not downloads, so while Chrome has been highly effective in ensuring downloads our stats show that people are actually using it to access the web also.”

In the US Internet Explorer continues to perform strongly and is maintaining market share at 50.66%, up slightly from 50.24% year on year. Firefox retains second place on 20.09%, down from 26.75%. Chrome is up to 17.3% from 10.89%. Safari is on 10.76% from 10.71%.

In the UK, Internet Explorer also leads the market with 42.82%. Chrome is on 24.82%, having overtaken Firefox (20.56%) in July. (For other individual country or regional analysis see StatCounter Global Stats).

StatCounter Global Stats are based on aggregate data collected on a sample exceeding 15 billion page views per month (4 billion from the US) from the StatCounter network of more than three million websites.

As well as free web research, StatCounter (http://statcounter.com/) provides free website traffic analysis. This allows website owners, developers and bloggers to capture valuable intelligence on their site in real time including number of visitors, visitors by country/region, search terms, popular pages, download stats, exit links and other data.

In September StatCounter announced its new website with added features.

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Users are flocking towards Mozilla’s latest Firefox 6 browser according to new data from Chitika Insights, the research arm of ad network Chitika. The company watched Firefox 6 adoption across its network in the United States and Canada from the browser’s debut on August 16th until August 22nd. Chitika Insights said that in just one week, Firefox 6 had already garnered 8% of the company’s traffic. In addition, Firefox 6 now represents 45% of all Firefox traffic, although the firm says the speed of growth has slowed since early adopters have already upgraded.

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According to the analytics firm StatCounter, Google’s Chrome web browser now has a 20.7% grip of the web browser market — seven times more than it had just two years ago. The boost comes at the cost of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web browser, which now has less than a 50% hold on the market. Mozilla’s Firefox web browser has a 28% share of the browser market, down from 30% two years ago, and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer share fell to 44% from 59% two years ago. According to Reuters, StatCounter gathers its data from more than 3 million websites with more than 15 billion page views.

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Google has started to build its open-source WebRTC software into its Chrome web browser, according to CNET. WebRTC was introduced in May as a new open tech that allows developers to create quick HTML and Javascript APIs for building voice and video chat applications on the web. With WebRTC built into Chrome, users would presumably be able to initiate video chats over Gmail’s Google Talk chat application without the need for installing Google’s plug-in first. “Our goal is to enable Chrome with Real-Time Communications (RTC) capabilities via simple Javascript APIs,” Henrik Andreasson, a Google employee on the WebRTC project said. “We are working hard to provide full RTC support in Chrome all the way from WebKit down to the native audio and video parts.”

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Barnes & Noble hasn’t acknowledged it yet, but the new NOOK actually does have a built-in web browser. It’s no surprise — the NOOK is powered by Android, so it should have some sort of browsing experience built-in — though it doesn’t work that well. We tested it with our review unit briefly by simply entering in a URL into the unit’s search function. Sites such as CNN and The New York Times failed to load at all, while others like Twitter’s mobile site booted just fine. The experience is far from perfect right now, but perhaps this means Barnes & Noble will patch the eReader with more robust support in the future. Hit the jump for a video of the browser in action, filmed by The eBook Reader. We’ll have our review of the all new NOOK up soon, so stay tuned!

[Via CNET]

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On Friday Nintendo announced that the much anticipated software update for the 3DS — which will deliver the eShop application store, a web browser, and more — will officially be available on June 6th. Anyone who installs the update before July 7th will also get a free 3D version of the NES game Excitebike. Nintendo also announced that it will deploy new content to the eShop every Thursday including Gameboy, Gameboy Color, and more than 350 Nintendo DSiWare titles. The initial Gameboy titles include Super Mario Land, Alleyway, and Radar Mission. Unfortunately, there was no mention of Netflix support in the update, but we won’t have long to find out if that’s a last-minute addition. Hit the jump for the full press release.

June 6 Nintendo 3DS System Update Adds Internet Browser, Online Store and Pokédex 3D

Nintendo Offers Free Re-mastered 3D Version of NES Classic Excitebike for Limited Time

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Nintendo of America has announced that the first major system update for the hand-held Nintendo 3DS™ system will be available in North America the evening of June 6, Pacific time. By installing the free update via a wireless broadband Internet connection, Nintendo 3DS users will have access to an Internet browser and the Nintendo eShop, which contains a variety of new content, including Pokédex™ 3D, an application that lets fans see Pokémon™ characters in 3D. To celebrate the grand opening of the Nintendo eShop, Nintendo is offering the NES™ game Excitebike™ re-mastered in 3D as a free download until July 7 for anyone who installs the system update. Upcoming Virtual Console™ content available in the Nintendo eShop includes Game Boy™ games Super Mario Land™, Alleyway™ and Radar Mission™. New content will be added to the Nintendo eShop on Thursdays.

The Nintendo eShop is a digital store for Nintendo 3DS owners that provides access to a wide variety of downloadable content, such as original 3D software, classic games that have been re-mastered in 3D called 3D Classics, Game Boy and Game Boy Color “Virtual Console” games in their original 2D glory, and more than 350 Nintendo DSiWare™ games. Visitors can also view video game trailers, screen shots and product information for games, including those available at retail locations.

Within the Nintendo eShop, Nintendo 3DS users will also be able to download the free Pokédex 3D application and start collecting data for more than 150 Pokémon from the Pokémon™ Black Version and Pokémon White Version games. This new application lets users view each Pokémon in 3D with animated motion and sound. The Pokémon image can be rotated 360 degrees, allowing users to zoom in and view it from any angle. The detailed Pokédex also allows users to search, sort and filter all of the data they receive in a variety of ways, making it the essential guide for Pokémon fans. Players can complete their Pokédex by sharing data with friends and using the SpotPass™ feature, or by scanning special Pokémon AR Markers (augmented-reality markers). Once users have received data for a Pokémon, the AR Viewer allows them to view that Pokémon image in a real-world setting in real time, and create photos to share with friends.

“The Nintendo 3DS system is constantly evolving and growing,” said Nintendo of America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. “The Nintendo eShop is a one-stop resource for a broad range of Nintendo information and downloadable games and applications. It expands the Nintendo 3DS experience with new and entertaining content.”

Other capabilities that go live with the system update include a free Internet browser that has the capability to show 3D images on sites specifically designed to show 3D images. The browser can also be used during game play. Users can stop their Nintendo 3DS game and go to the browser by pressing the Home button and then resume their game when they are finished browsing.

The system update also gives Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™ system owners the ability to easily transfer most of their previously downloaded Nintendo DSiWare™ games to their new Nintendo 3DS systems.

In the near future, users will be able to download a free application for a short-form video service that will enable them to view specially selected video content, including 3D movie trailers, comedy clips and music videos automatically received when the SpotPass feature is activated.

To install the recommended system update, Nintendo 3DS users can simply start the “System Settings” from the Home Menu, select “Other Settings” and scroll the page right to select “System Update.”

Remember that the Nintendo 3DS system features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo3ds.com.

Nintendo will launch the 3DS web browser and eShop on June 6th during the E3 game tradeshow in Los Angeles. A post on Nintendo’s website confirms: “The Nintendo eShop will be enabled through a system update which has been announced for the evening of June 6, 2011. We’ll have more information for you after this update becomes available.” The eShop should allow 3DS users to download extra game content directly to their devices, although it’s unclear what else will be available at launch. Nintendo has said that a Netflix client is in the works, so our fingers are crossed that it’s part of the package, too. We reviewed the Nintendo 3DS in early April and the lack of an eShop, Netflix, and web browser, were some of our biggest gripes with the device.

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Intel gathered by blog Android Central indicates that Sprint and Google will make their Google Voice partnership ready for prime time on April 26th. The venture, which was announced last month, will allow Sprint customers to seamlessly integrate their current wireless number with Google’s Voice service. Calls and texts sent from your mobile device will be logged by Google Voice’s online system, and calls can be made from the browser using the service’s VoIP feature. International calls made from linked mobile devices will automatically route through Google Voice — which offers deep discounting on international voice traffic. The feature has been available in beta for the last few weeks, but it looks like the two companies are finally ready to let everyone in on the fun.

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Skyfire just took the wraps off of Skyfire 4.0 — its latest and greatest Android browser — and it includes a number of noteworthy enhancements. The SkyBar toolbar is now customizable and has been updated with Groupon, Google Reader, and Twitter integration. SkyBar also now includes a “share” button, feeds for sports, news, and finance, and quick access to the browser’s settings. In tandem with the new launch, Skyfire says that the “video optimization feature,” which typically costs $2.99, will be free to all Verizon customers downloading the update. Current Skyfire users will get the 4.0 update for free. Hit the jump for the full release.

Skyfire Launches 4.0 Version of its Popular Android Mobile Browser with Eight New Killer Features

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (April 21st, 2011) – Today Skyfire, maker of the award-winning and popular mobile browser, announces the release of Skyfire 4.0 for Android — its highly anticipated next-generation Android browser. Skyfire 4.0 for Android allows users to personalize their SkyBarTM toolbar, while adding eight new SkyBar features. While the basic browser and toolbar will remain free to Android users, Skyfire is also introducing a premium in-app purchase to enable its Video feature, which draws on Skyfire’s cloud-based servers to optimize videos from across the web.  As a thank you to over 3 million early beta users of the app, all existing users will be “grandfathered” in for free access for the lifetime of their device.

Skyfire’s SkyBar toolbar is now scrollable and customizable, allowing for a larger and more personalized number of features to be positioned on the toolbar. Beyond the ‘Video’, ‘Facebook’, ‘Fireplace’, ‘Popular’, ‘Ideas’ & ‘Like’ buttons, Skyfire has added full Twitter, Groupon and Google Reader integration, a ‘Share’ button, Sports, News and Finance feeds, and a ‘Settings’ button.

Skyfire for Android is one of the most popular applications in the Android Market and has seen over 3 million downloads since launching in April 2010. The mobile browser was upgraded to critical acclaim in November 2010 with integrated social media and Facebook capabilities, and the app currently has a user rating of 4.5 stars out of a possible five stars, based on tens of thousands of reviews in the Android Market. This latest update will continue to build on Skyfire’s strong track record of innovation.

With v4.0, Skyfire for Android will begin offering its video optimization as an optional $2.99 premium feature, unlocked via an in-app purchase after a three day free trial.  The feature pays for itself for most users around the world by allowing users to watch more video with less data usage (where users have capped or metered data plans), as well as increasing battery life.

As part of a special, limited time offer, Skyfire is offering the video optimization feature free to all Verizon customers downloading Skyfire 4.0 for Android.  Skyfire will be available in the VCastTM Apps section of the Android Market for Verizon users during this promotion.

Skyfire 4.0 for Android, including the video optimization feature, will remain free for all of the over 3 million beta testers around the globe who have used the app to date, in gratitude for their support in helping Skyfire grow and improve.

“With Skyfire 4.0 for Android, we’re enabling users to customize their browser toolbar to fit their interests, from sports, to social networks, to finance, news, and local deals,” said Jeff Glueck, CEO of Skyfire. “While the basic browser will remain free, with the launch of Google’s Android In-App purchase platform, the time has come to make our video cloud acceleration service a premium feature that reflects the investment we make to support each user in our cloud.  We deliver state-of-the art web video tuned to your current mobile connection bandwidth, saving 75% on average data loads. For users who enjoy web video, or who are on metered data, the service can pay for itself in the first month of use.”

New Features in Skyfire 4.0 for Android include:

·       Customizable SkyBar – Skyfire’s toolbar is now configurable and expandable, enabling users to create their own flavor of Skyfire experience.  With the new scrollable SkyBar, users now have access to fourteen Skyfire features and have the ability to enable, disable and position each button as they see fit.

·       New SkyBar Features –Skyfire has added eight new features:

o   Twitter – Login to the ‘Twitter’ Button to have one-touch access to Twitter streams.  Tweet, search, and check in with the Twittersphere without leaving the Skyfire browser.  (And yes, watch videos shared on Twitter with just one click.)
o   Groupon – With the ‘Groupon’ Button, the SkyBar is now delivering nearby deals so you can do a quick check on the deal of the day at all times.
o   Share – Easily share websites, articles, pictures & videos with the touch of the ‘Share’ button, a feature previously accessible through the Skyfire menu.
o   Google Reader – Use the ‘Google Reader’ Button to keep up with feeds from your favorite sites.  Google Reader keeps you in the know by constantly checking your favorite news sites and blogs for new content.
o   Sports, News & Finance – Three new buttons, ‘Sports’, ‘News’ & ‘Finance’, have been added to the SkyBar to bring one-touch access to the latest events.
o   Settings – The ‘Settings’ button could easily be labeled the ‘Customize’ button.  Use this to enable, disable or position SkyBar features to your personal preferences.

·       General Tips – We’ve added a host of new in-browser tips, tricks & tutorials to help users get them most out of browsing with Skyfire.

Download Skyfire 4.0 for Android today here: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.skyfire.browser

During Microsoft’s MIX conference in Las Vegas, Windows Phone director Joe Belfiore took the stage to demonstrate how well Microsoft’s new Internet Explorer 9 mobile browser can render HTML5 websites. He fired up a device running Microsoft’s new Windows Phone “Mango” update with IE9 installed and hardware acceleration, and then started an HTML5 speed test pitting the Mango device against the iPhone 4 and the Google Nexus S. Belfiore was so confident in the new browser that he gave the iPhone 4 a head start. Nonetheless, IE9 loaded the demo faster and came out on top, having displayed the test at 20 frames per second. It was followed by the Android browser on the Nexus S, which rendered the same demo at 11 frames per second, and then the iPhone 4 at 2 frames per second. This wasn’t exactly an independent test given that it was preformed by Microsoft and likely under optimal conditions, but we are definitely still impressed with what we’ve seen so far — let’s just hope the update to Mango goes a bit smoother than NoDo. Hit the jump for the video comparison.

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The brood over at PreCentral have managed to acquire a leaked copy of HP’s webOS 3.0 beta 1 software development kit (SDK). Why is this a good thing? Because contained within said SDK rests a TouchPad, webOS 3.0 emulator, of course. While emulators only provide 50% of the TouchPad story — the other half being hardware — it is useful to get a high-level overview of what user interface will look like. If you want to whet your appetite for this summers TouchPad release, hit the jump. There’s an eighteen minute video overview awaiting your scrutiny. Be sure to click through the read link as well for a host of screen grabs.

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