I am re-posting something I found on the Google developer page. Answers a lot of questions which you might have about Chrome for Android. So, here we go.
Is Chrome for Android Beta open source?
Chrome for Android is derived from Chromium. Because of the ICS release timeframes, we haven’t started the open sourcing process until recently. New capabilities added for Chrome for Android will be open sourced in phases, by upstreaming components of it into Chromium, WebKit, and other projects, while maintaining the integrity of those projects. An early source distribution of some of these pieces can be found here.
Does Chrome for Android Beta follow the same release cycles as desktop Chrome?
Not yet. We are exploring how to support multiple channels once the product evolves beyond the current Beta release.
Can I make Chrome for Android Beta auto-update?
You can make it auto-update by checking either the per-app or global auto-update setting in Android Market.
What are the differences between Android Browser and Chrome for Android Beta?
Chrome for Android Beta provides the same fast, secure, and stable web browsing experience you’ve come to enjoy when using Chrome on desktop. We’ve taken a different approach to tabs and overall navigation. By signing in to Chrome on Android, users can have a unified, personalized Chrome experience across all their devices.
From a developer perspective, we are introducing support for Chrome Developer Tools, Indexed DB, requestAnimationFrame, WebSockets and Web Workers.
How do I add a bookmark in Chrome to my home screen?
Currently in Beta, this feature is not supported. Bookmarks created in Android Browser can be added to the home screen and opened with Chrome for Android by default.
I’ve written my mobile web app to use feature X, but Chrome for Android doesn’t support it.
Please see if this is already a known issue and star it if it is. Otherwise, please log a bug.
Does Chrome for Android now support the embedded WebView for a hybrid native/web app?
We are evaluating ways we can supported WebView with Chrome but do not have any plans to announce at this time.
Does Chrome for Android support apps and extensions?
Chrome apps and extensions are currently not supported on Chrome for Android. We have no plans to announce at this time.
Can I write web apps on Chrome for Android?
Chrome apps and extensions are not supported on Chrome for Android. Chrome for Android is currently in Beta. We would love to see great interactive web sites accessible by URL.
What version of Flash is supported on Chrome for Android?
Chrome for Android will not be supporting Flash. As you may have seen in November, 2011, Adobe announced it has stopped investing in Flash for mobile browsing. Google has long been committed to making the web platform more powerful through open web technologies like HTML5 and is working with Adobe and other partners to further advance the web standard.
What HTML5 features does Chrome for Android support?
How do I debug my mobile web page?
Chrome Developer Tools are available for remote debugging with Chrome for Android. See the article on Remote Debugging for more information.
Can I hide the URL bar?
The URL bar in Chrome for Android is Chrome’s Omnibox, with all of the built-in search and navigation features. For this initial Beta, we decided to show the Omnibox at all times. We are monitoring usage patterns and feedback to decide how to evolve this feature in future iterations of the application.
How similar is Chrome for Android with the desktop/laptop version of Chrome?
Chrome for Android is based on the same source as Chrome for desktop. Chrome for Android brings desktop-class browsing to mobile devices. We plan to continually evaluate applicability of other features from desktop to the mobile platform.
Is Canvas hardware accelerated?
Yes.
What about WebGL support?
We have no plans to announce at this time.
Does Native Client work on Chrome for Android?
We have no plans to announce at this time.
What is Chrome for Android’s User Agent string?
The User Agent string for Chrome for Android builds on what most websites are seeing already for the Android Browser. An additional “CrMo” version string is added to identify the version of Chrome (and is a way to distinguish Chrome for Android from Android Browser).
For example, on a Galaxy Nexus running the Android 4.0, you will see something like
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android-4.0.3; en-us; Galaxy Nexus Build/IML74K) AppleWebKit/535.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) CrMo/16.0.912.75 Mobile Safari/535.7
Likewise, on a Motorola Xoom on Android 4.0, the User Agent string will look like
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android-4.0.3; en-us; Xoom Build/IML77) AppleWebKit/535.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) CrMo/16.0.912.75 Safari/535.7
Will Chrome Web Store be available on Android?
We have no plans to announce at this time.
Are you still working on the Android browser, or are you dropping support in favor of Chrome?
Android Browser and Chrome for Android are both derived from Chromium and already share a lot of code. We will continue to evaluate where it makes sense to harmonize our efforts; for instance, Google now has just one port of WebKit to maintain.
Will Chrome for Android Beta work on my Android device?
Chrome for Android Beta is supported only on Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich. We expect Chrome for Android Beta to work on all devices with Android 4.0.
Is Chrome for Android Beta hardware accelerated?
Yes, hardware acceleration is an essential capability in Android 4.0 and is heavily utilized by Chrome for Android as well.
When will Chrome for Android launch in my country?
We are launching Beta in a limited set of countries and hope to expand it to other countries over the coming months
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
am i crazy to hope it will come to iOS?
(is there even a remote possibility of this?)
Any thoughts about passwords?
Won’t synch for me. Is this function disabled so far?
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