NEW DELHI: Mobile Web users will soon be able to take advantage of Google Chrome’s new push notification feature for a number of big-name websites like Facebook, eBay, and Pinterest.
Added as part of Chrome 42 for Android, released last week, the new push notifications offer a more app-like experience for mobile websites. With this new feature, users can opt to allow specific websites to send them push notifications, just like an installed app.
And some big-name websites are already on board with the idea. In addition to Facebook, eBay, and Pinterest, the list of early adopters also includes sites like Beyond the Rack, FanSided, Product Hunt, and Vice News, Google said this week.
“Timely, personalized notifications save users the effort of manually checking for updates throughout the day and have enabled a host of new experiences from real time communication to live updates on breaking news,” Google’s Miguel Garcia and Owen Campbell-Moore wrote in a blog post Monday.
The latest version of Chrome also brings another new feature to Android the ability to add regularly visited sites to your phone’s home screen. This way, you can easily jump back to your favourite sites with a single tap no need to manually type in the Web address anymore.
At this point, the feature is only available for “modern, mobile-optimized” websites, such as Flipboard or Medium, Google said. You’ll be able to add these sites to your home screen with a single tap. If you don’t already have it, Chrome 42 for Android can be found in the Google Play store.
Meanwhile, Google this week also rolled out one of its biggest changes in years by updating its algorithm to give preference to mobile-friendly sites for Smartphone or tablet queries. The controversial change means websites not currently optimized for variously sized mobile devices will be buried under an avalanche of results, while mobile-friendly sites rocket to the top.
