Google has unveiled the Chrome Web Store, bringing rich app functionality to the web.
Each app from the Chrome Web Store brings the rich, interactive experience that apps provide for smartphones and tablets onto the PC.
Purchasing and installing apps is straightforward – it links the user’s details through their Google account and in seconds, the app is available for use.
Google has noted that, with the vast quantity of apps online, it’s hard for users to discover the best ones. As a result, developers find it hard to make their app stand out and monetise.
The Google Chrome Web Store was designed to make it easier to discover favourite apps. The landing page of the Google Chrome Web Store is a gallery, which showcases numerous featured apps.
Developers are in charge of reaching users and can give them trial services of their apps. The store gives developers total control of how long the trial period should be.
Apps on the Chrome Web Store
Five hundred apps are already available on the store. The New York Times has brought its paper onto the Chrome Web Store.
New features of the New York Times app, which was built with HTML5, CSS3 and advanced Javascript, include customised viewing modes, such as putting a focus on photography or listing headlines.
It is also available offline, as well, and functionality works with a mouse or touchscreen.
Amazon has also developed apps for the store, the first being Window Shop, bringing a highly visual, paned, horizontal browsing experience to the web. The Kindle store will also be available in Quarter 1 of next year.
Gaming is a huge focus for the web store, with EA bringing its franchises to the store.
According to EA, it took less than 48 hours to create Poppit, the balloon-popping game, for the Chrome Web Store with HTML5. EA says it’s the fastest and best-looking game it has ever been, with HD graphics.
Poppit will also be embedded with the next Chrome browser release.
The Google Chrome Store can be accessed later today via Chrome browsers.
