Google has just launched the long awaited Chrome Beta for Android 4.0 devices. We have great expectations in this new project and that is why we have tested the beta with the latest version of the qooxdoo mobile showcase. The good news is that Google Chrome Beta has exceeded all our expectations in the use cases tested: Form elements work as expected (no password field overlay when transforms are used, select boxes display items correctly, scrolling on text areas works). Also page transitions seem to work better than in the latest Android 4.0 browser, where animations for page transitions are completely useless. Anyway, animations could be smoother and we have seen a blur effect during transitions – Google should improve that for the final version.

But the best part is: Chrome Beta also supports the CSS properties overflow:auto and position:fixed, which are essential for mobile HTML5 apps. Seems like Christmas is in February this year for all mobile developers.

qooxdoo mobile works out of the box with the new browser. Overall Google has done a great job with Google Chrome Beta for Android. Let’s hope that Chrome will become the default browser for Android soon. Right now, even as a beta, it’s better in all tested scenarios than the default Android browser.