Today, Google officially announced the Google Chrome Web Store alongside the impending launch of the Chrome OS Notebook (TNW has the scoop on getting one). While plenty of folks have been waiting for this, I haven’t and I’m glad I haven’t. If you were expecting a new breed of apps from the Chrome Web Store like I was, you can guess again. Only a handful of real “apps” currently exist in the store. Everything else seems to be a bookmarklet or extension instead of an actual app. So here are a few Google Chrome apps worth checking out. Just to clear a few things up, the Google Chrome Web Store is a mixture of Google Apps, Extensions, and Themes for Google Chrome. It isn’t only apps as you might have been lead to believe (I was). In essence, half of what’s listed in the store is an extension or bookmarklet for the actually site. I’m willing to bet that more than 50% of the Google Chrome Web Store will work in any other browser outside of Google Chrome.
I digress for now. Here are a couple of apps that I did enjoy taking a peek at or will continue to use (click images for links to the web apps):
The New York Times
By far one of the most beautiful web apps in the Chrome Web Store, The New York Times wins my vote as best Chrome app. The layout is done flip-board style, with a left-sidebar displaying topics. You can’t dig into these sections (yet?), but it goes a long way in showing the powerful behind the Chrome Web Store.
Tweetdeck
Tweetdeck made a really smart move here! Previously, there was no web version of Tweetdeck, only desktop and mobile offerings where Tweetdeck dominates. Competitors Seesmics, Hootsuite, and CoTweet are taking the cake with their web offerings and that didn’t seem to bother Tweetdeck for a long time. In a well-thought marketing move, Tweetdeck has launched as its web version as an app for Chrome’s Web Store. It’s quite the treat with unqiue offerings and those column layouts Tweetdeck is so famous for.
Wikihood
Previously only available for iPhones and iPads (iTunes Link), Wikihood makes its way into the Chrome Web Store with some nice features. After allowing it to find me, it told me a lot more about my Brooklyn backyard that I’ve only been aware of through word of mouth. My only quirk with this app is that the articles are shown in mobile format.
Extension Bonus: The Next Web
I love seeing how far this site has come along. They’re Chrome extension (not app) is pretty nifty too. This extension lets you choose which TNW Channels you’d like to see and how often the extension should check for new articles. Nifty and neat!
Apps for Chrome OS
You may come across more apps that are only for Google’s new Chrome OS. A couple of those apps (or bookmarks in most cases) that I think will be essential treats are:
- Flixster
- Amazon Window Shop
- Google Books
- Slide Rocket
What apps have you found in the Chrome Web Store that are rocking your socks? Found any new extensions thanks to the Chrome Web Store? Share them with me in the comments.