The default web browser on Android phones and tablets uses the same WebKit rendering engine as the Google Chrome web browser for desktop and laptop computers. But it’s not Chrome.

But today Google has launched the first version of Chrome for Android. It looks like the desktop version of Chrome and features the same omnibox that lets you enter a URL or a search query — with suggestions popping up as you type.

When you sign in with your Google account you’ll automatically be able to access your bookmarks, search history, and other data from the desktop version of Chrome.

There’s also an option to view browser tabs that are open on other devices. If you’re signed into Chrome on your desktop, you can fire up Chrome on your mobile device and quickly open the pages you were just reading on your PC.

Google Chrome requires Android 4.0 or higher to run. I took it for a spin on my HP TouchPad today, and it feels ridiculously fast — especially when visiting pages that it can preload in the background.

Chrome also makes it easy to open an incognito window when you don’t want sites you visit to be saved to you history.

Skype for Android lets you make voice or video calls or send instant messages. Now you can also use it to send files including photos or pre-recorded videos over the internet.

To get the new file-sending feature, you just need to grab the free Skype 2.6 app from the Android Market.

File-sending is available over WiFi or 3G connections and the service is free — but you’ll have to pay for any used data minutes on your own.

Skype 2.6 also offers better battery life and video quality improvements on phones and tablets with NVIDIA Tegra 2 processors. The company has also added new graphics and improved the voicemail and sign-in functions.

The developers behind the popular Dolphin web browser for mobile devices have released version 7.0 for Android. The key new feature is a cloud synchronization option that lets you sync your bookmarks, gestures, and other preferences across all your phones and tablets.

The new service is called Dolphin Connect and right now it only supports Android — but support for the Dolphin Browser for iPhone and iPad is in the works. Eventually you’ll be able to sync your preferences between an iPad and an Android phone.

Dolphin is one of the most powerful, customizeable browsers for Android. Users can create custom gestures, install add-ons to extend the functionality of the browser, and use the Webzine mode to view some websites in a clean, magazine-style layout.

Dolphin Browser HD 7.0 tweaks the Webzine feature by displaying the 16 most popular channels on the home screen — which kind of suggests to me that I’m not the only person who isn’t really using the Webzine feature and Dolphin is looking for ways to highlight it.

For now Dolphin 7.0 is available exclusively from the GetJar app store. On October 23rd it should go live in the Android Market.

Nimbuzz offers mobile apps that let you chat with or make free calls to other Nimbuzz users, or cheap calls to phone numbers. The iPhone app supports video calls, while you can also make voice-only calls from the Nimbuzz Android and Symbian apps.

Now the company has also  launched a PC app for Mac or Windows which means you can place a call from a desktop or laptop computer to your Nimbuzz contacts.

Sure, Nimbuzz is hardly the first company to offer this feature. Skype has had a cross-platform video app for ages — and Skype Linux as well as Windows and OS X.

But if your contacts are using Nimbuzz rather than Skype for one reason or another, it’s nice to know you can now call them from your desk without pulling out a phone first.

The new Nimbuzz PC app is available as a free download. You can also use it as a cross-platform instant messenger app. It supports Google Talk, Facebook Chat, Windows Live, Yahoo, and AOL messenger services, among others.

Nimbuzz will be rolling out video calling support for Android and Symbian soon as well.

via IntoMobile

Update: There’s reason to believe these screenshots could be fake.

Earlier this year a rumor started making the rounds that Research in Motion was preparing to launch BlackBerry Messenger apps for Android and iOS. On the one hand, this would open up the company’s popular instant messaging service to a much larger audience. On the other hand, it could hurt BlackBerry smartphone sales since right now BBM is pretty much a BlackBerry exclusive — if you want to chat with your friends on the service you need a BlackBerry device.

Now TechRadar received some leaked photos that give the rumor a little more credibility. They show BlackBerry Messenger on an Android phone.

The photos reportedly come from a RIM employee who says the app is still in testing, but that it could launch next year.

Research in Motion has been dealing with sluggish BlackBerry Tablet sales and declining smartphone sales as Android, iOS and Windows Phone 7 pick up steam. The company still makes solid communications devices, but BlackBerry is still a brand that’s most often associated with business users, while the smartphone and tablet market is largely catering to consumers these days.

While the company has made some strides in adding social features, a new touch-friendly interface, and powerful multimedia capabilities to its recent devices, most people don’t think of BlackBerry products as “fun.”

So perhaps porting BBM to Android and iOS makes good business sense: Maybe RIM’s days as a hardware vendor are limited. But if the company can port some of its more popular software applications to run on other platforms, there could be a market for RIM’s communication and business-oriented services on Android, iOS, and other mobile operating systems.

Skype has rolled out an updated Android app that adds support for 14 new devices — including a couple of tablets running Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb and up. Skype 2.5 is the first version of the voice, video, and text chat app that supports video calling on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Motorola XOOM, and Acer Iconia Tab A500.

The new app also adds support to video calls to the Google Nexus One and a couple other phones. What’s significant here is that the Nexus One doesn’t actually have a front-facing camera. This means you can see the person you’re talking to, or share the view from your rear camera. But you won’t be able to conduct a face-to-face call on the Nexus One.

If you’ve been using Skype on your device without any problems though, you might want to hold off on the update — since Skype 2.5 is also the first version of the company’s Android app to include in-app advertising. If you’re a paying Skype subscriber you won’t see any ads. But if you only use the software to make free calls to other Skype users and haven’t bought Skype credit to use with premium features such as placing calls to telephone numbers, the old app is ad-free. The new app is not.

It’s been about three months since Google launched the Google+ social network, and today the company is removing the beta label. Anyone can sign up for the service. Google also launched a few major updates today, including some new features that are available in a web browser and a few that are available on mobile devices.

The biggest change for mobile users is support for Hangouts. These are group video chatrooms that you could previously set up at a moment’s notice on any computer with a webcam, mic, and supported web browser. Now you can join a Hangout using the Google+ app for Android. The feature is also coming soon to the Google+ iOS app.

If you’re in the US or India you can also now post to Google+ or receive notifications using SMS instead of a mobile app. The mobile apps for Android and iOS also let you send a message directly to an individual by typing +username. And the iOS app now lets you add a +1 to a comment, not just a post. The Android app will get this feature soon.

Other mobile updates include the ability to edit your profile photo, customize notifications, and share photos using the Messenger service (previously known as Huddle). Android users can also now move the Google+ app to an SD card.

The desktop version of Google+ also gets some nifty new features including:

• Search (seriously, how was this not available before?)
• Record or “broadcast” Hangouts (10 people can chat, but there’s no limit on how many people can watch)
• Share documents, a sketchpad, or share your screen in a Hangout

You can sign up for Google+ at plus.google.com.

Logitech’s Harmony Link is a new wireless solution designed to provide a one-step remote connection between your mobile device and multimedia system.

The Harmony Link serves as the connectivity piece between your remote (iOS or Android device) and up to eight external devices, including DVRs, Blu-Ray players, TVs and various media streamers. By operating within a dedicated free app (to be released in October,) you control the Harmony Link as it commands the media systems.

In addition, the app is expected to include local TV listings via data provider Rovi, and can be programmed to change channels other device-specific functions according to the date and times of certain shows. While the iPad will be the only device to get full Rovi compatibility at first, which includes full listings of episodes and program guides, the iPhone and Android apps should receive it in the near future.

Logitech will be launching the Harmony Link and its corresponding universal app in October for $100. While the functionality seems to justify the price point, the fact that the Harmony Link is nothing more than a puck-shaped WiFi radio hooked up to five infrared LEDs may put the price into question.

via This Is My Next (The Verge)