MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Google says it is releasing its Chrome Web browser for Android smartphones and tablets, three years after the popular desktop version debuted.
While many users had expected Chrome to be the default browser when the Android operating system was introduced, they had to settle for a generic browser most users found less than exciting.
Google says it took its time because it wanted Chrome for Android to be as useful as the full desktop version introduced in 2008 that has steadily gained market share.
"We didn't want to just push out Chrome light," Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Google Chrome, said in an interview with Wired. "Our goal was to get all of Chrome onto Android."
Android users will find Chrome on their smartphone and tablet will be synced with Chrome running on their desktop computers, displaying bookmarks and open tabs on all platforms, Google said.
The Android version is a beta release but Pichai said he expects to drop the "beta" title soon.
"After announcing [desktop] Chrome the first time, we took it out of beta in three months," he said. "I'd expect this to happen here in the near future."
