Chrome Gains Speed, “Borrowed” Features

New results indicate that Google Chrome gets faster, always nice, but is also starting to gain features. One of those features is currently an Opera exclusive, which will synchronize bookmarks across all of the user’s machines.

The sync feature is done using the same protocol as Google Talk, which may or may not be better than the method used in Opera, which is to sync by contact with stored listings on the Opera website.

The blurb on Download Squad states that the extensions interface is currently deactivated, as it is being re-worked. Many of the things about Chrome are enticing (astonishingly, just like Windows 7) but a few things that people take for granted, as they have been accustomed to them for some years, are still being left out.

It will be interesting to see how the share will change, with Internet Explorer losing ground all the time, and my favorite, Opera, continuously inventing great new features, only to have them copied by more popular browsers.

The latest Windows version of Google Chrome, version 4.0, is now in beta. It’s reportedly a scorching 30% faster than the current release, and it includes a bookmark syncing feature that’s been floating around in the developer preview version of the browser for some time.

Activate bookmark syncing on each of your computers, and Chrome will automatically synchronize any changes to your bookmarks across all your machines. It’s made possible by the magic of XMPP, which also powers Google Talk. Sound good? Go ahead and download Chrome 4.0 Beta.

This beta version of Chrome is also notable for what it leaves out: extensions support. According to Stephen Shankland at CNET, Google is reworking the extensions interface for Chrome, so that feature is disabled for now. Shankland also tracked down some news on the upcoming Chrome Mac Beta. The team working on it has been instructed to fix all their high-priority bugs by the end of the week, and it looks like getting the Mac version out is near the top of Google’s to-do list

While more speed is nice, it can’t continue to be the driver forever. At some point, the speed differences will become meaningless, as they will all become very fast and then, once again, features and security will be the watchwords, and arbiters of user choice.

I know that the JavaScript engine of Opera is being overhauled; something there was not time to do before the release of version 10. When that is added, it will be interesting to see how Opera fares, as when looking now between Opera and Chrome, the major delta of performance seems firmly rooted in Java Script.

In the mean time, what other Opera features will be “appropriated” for these other browsers?

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