By Just as promised back at Google I/O, the push from the cloud functionality showcased for Froyo is making its way to handsets starting today. With Google’s Chrome to Phone extension for their Chrome browser, you can now quickly and easily send your current web page, map and directions, YouTube video, phone numbers, and text straight to your Android phone (provided you’re on Android 2.2).
And with that, your web browsing life has just become fluid with your handset. No longer will you have to save an article for later on your desktop computer or laptop or go through the hassle of looking it up on your phone again. One click and bam, the same content you are accessing on your computer is sent to your phone over the air without the need for tethering. But the real beauty for me comes with the integration for Google Maps. I can’t count the number of times I have looked up directions, got in my car thinking I had them queued up on my phone, and then realized I had in fact looked them up on the PC. OK, at that point it doesn’t really help me, but now whenever I find myself mapping on my laptop I can quickly and easily shoot the directions right over to my phone for access later.
You can also send selected text to your phone or shoot a number from a webpage straight to the Android dialer. Check out the overview in the video below:
Now this is something I can get excited about, and it shows Google making innovations that continually outpace rivals like Apple. You can get the Chrome extension by following this link, and the app for Android in the Android Market now. You can read more about the technical aspect of the service at the Android Developer’s Blog.
[via Google Mobile Blog]
can this only be used for chrome?
This is stupid. Every feature they have “announced” today was already on my HTC Evo. I don’t know about other phones, but I thought these were standard Froyo features.
Theres also a plug in for Firefox called Send To Phone / Fox to Phone. I use it fairly regularly and it works great
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/161941/
You need to have the Chrome to Phone app installed on your phone.
Money!
You can use this with a Firefox Add-On, The Add-On is called “Send to Phone”.
This is pretty cool.. It of course has the possibility that someone could figure out your password and create a little havoc for a short time until you killed it from your phone. The chances are pretty slim that it will happen, and I don’t imagine there is much that could be done by someone who did it.. But I can see the Headlines of fear when it does (and it will) happen.
I have been using this since i got Froyo…downloaded it before froyo even hit my Evo…how is this news? Granted…it rocks!!!
Is it just me or is Google full of hot geeks? Yum.
I’m also confused what the announcement is here. I’ve been using Chrome-to-Phone for over two and a half months now. Has something been substantially changed or updated about it?
Its funny how my chrome browser decided to not work anymore.
how come there i dont find the app on my desire with modaco r5? thats froyo, isnt it?
For those of you that have already been using this for months now. YEAH ! VZW just starting pushing 2.2 to alot of phones the last day or 2 and many of those users have no idea that these apps that are strictly for 2.2 even exsist. So if this info doesn’t apply to you then maybe just move on and thank you phandroid for providing this information to those out there that this will be new and useful for.
yeah… i had this on my N1 when the first leaked build of froyo came out back in May… I love this feature but it is def old news. @ lvmydroid the post says “…is making its way to handsets starting today”. You see how it says STARTING today, thats a false statement, it didn’t start today. Phandroid should point this out to readers and say those that already have froyo have been using this for a while but if you are being updated to 2.2 today or in the near future you can look forward to this feature. Just saying…
one more reason to dump my cliqXT on ebay.
The set
Oops, as I was saying… The “set alarm” function doesn’t work for me. It says my clock app needs to update but the link seems to be broken. Everything else works quite well.
This is bullshit there is no technical reason why this feature is 2.2 specific. I just dropped 5 cnotes and the Vibrant and have to wait for a 2.2 update (or custom rom) to do this.
hmm I’m not getting any new phone until it is first updated to froyo
@Rob, there is a technical reason it requires 2.2, according to Google only Froyo has the necessary API to make this work.
Google may not have a lot of control over what version of android the phone makers adopt, but they sure aren’t making it easy for us stuck in the old version. Is there really a reason this won’t work in 2.1 or is it just because we already don’t have the latest browser? It’s hard to believe this is the same company that makes the always up to date, constantly improving chrome. I used to ignore the fragmentation complaints because I knew it was just a matter of time until we got the new version. Unfortunately now that a lot of phones are probably stuck in 2.1 (eris) I think it sucks.
I’m with the others: I’ve had this for months already. What’s new?? Why is it being reported now??
@Tkeith
The problem is the fragmentation *IS* completely out of Google’s control. To be honest they are doing the only thing they can: push the market forward with exclusive build apps so consumers lay the pressure on the manufacturers and carriers.
The phone market, as it functions today, is on the verge of falling apart. You can’t release a dell laptop and not expect compatible drivers for latest Windows version for the next 3 years …. but thats what phone manufacturers are doing. I honestly think Google in this case is pushing the market until it breaks.
Ill tell you one thing: its been made illegal to disallow people form jailbreaking/rooting phones. If Google were to openly release Android at a fee I’d spend it in a heartbeat and gladly wipe this Sprint hybrid right off my system if it meant direct updates within a week (ala Nexus One).
This upgrade at the mercy of the carrier blows hard.
Can’t find it in the search using chrome. Firefox Add on shows up thou???
@Chris Its in the extensions section, you have to look for the one that has the same icon as the one that Google showed.
@All there is a difference because now this and the voice search have really been improved its almost like they came out of beta. Also just in case you were wondering I’ve had the original features for months since I got the leaked version of Froyo on my Nexus in May.
Am I the only one that wants to go the other way? Sometimes I’m browsing on my phone and want to check the link out on my computer for some reason (I want to view something on the big screen, The meeting I’m in just ended).
Are there any easy ways to get a website to your browser on the desktop? For now I just end up emailing myself the link but that isn’t very elegant.
PAKO brings up good point. It would be cool to be able to go from phone to laptop.
Also is there any difference with the FireFox browser vs Chrome.?
I just use linkpush from the market it works on any browser and is available on android 1.6 and up. Works great on my Mytouch Slide.