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Chrome For Android Now Lets You Save Web Pages For Reading Later (techcrunch.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the to-do-list dept.

Today, Google has introduced a series of improvements to Chrome for Android to make it easier to save content for offline access. The improvements will be made to the "Downloads" feature rolled out in December that allows you to save webpages, music and videos for offline access. TechCrunch reports: To download a web page previously, you would open Chrome's menu in the top-right of the browser, then tap the "save" icon that's located next to the star for bookmarking the site. You could then see all the content you had saved for offline access by tapping on "Downloads" from this same menu. Now, Google is adding more ways to save content, including a way to long press on a link the way you do when you want to open up a page in a new tab. The option to "Download Link" will appear on the pop-up screen you see after your press, below the options to open the page in a new tab or incognito tab. Google says this long press action will also work on its article suggestions on its New Tab page. This New Tab page will also include the articles you've already downloaded, which will be flagged with an offline badge.

46 comments

  1. Step 1: Invent "Save" - Step 2: Get on Slashdot by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

    Chrome adds feature
    found in all others
    SlashDot loves it
    They're Google lovers
    Burma-Shave

    1. Re:Step 1: Invent "Save" - Step 2: Get on Slashdot by sims+2 · · Score: 1

      Didn't opera have this feature years ago or was that only on iOS?

      --
      Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    2. Re:Step 1: Invent "Save" - Step 2: Get on Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Opera is like a Greek among barbarians: EVERYTHING other browsers have, or will have, Opera had it years ago...

      Yes, you guessed it right: i am a Greek!

    3. Re:Step 1: Invent "Save" - Step 2: Get on Slashdot by nospam007 · · Score: 1

      "Opera is like a Greek among barbarians: EVERYTHING other browsers have, or will have, Opera had it years ago...

      Yes, you guessed it right: i am a Greek!"

      Ok, here' are a few Greek jokes then.
      --
      What game did the Greek Gods play?
      Hydra and go seek.

      What did the Ancient Greeks wear on their feet?
      Tennis Zeus.

      How do Greek women get ready for a toga party?
      With A Hera appointment.

      Have you seen the movies about Greek Mythology?
      No?, well you odyssey them.

      What do you call a musician petrified by Medusa?
      A rockstar.

      Why doesn't Aphrodite date tennis players?
      Because love means nothing to them.

      What do you call a movie about eating healthy?
      My Big Fat Greek Yogurt.

      What is Apollo's favorite indie rock band?
      Walk The Moon.

      What did Poseidon say to the sea monster?
      What's Kraken?

      Which Greek god is always passing wind?
      Anemoi.

      Why does Ares only have a Sony Playstation?
      Because he is the "God Of War"

      Who did Artemis invite to her birthday party?
      Her nearest and deer-est friends.

      Why did Artemis miss her mark?
      She wasn't aiming deer-ectly for it.

      What do you call the Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie about the Greek Bailouts?
      The Last Action Gyro.

      Why did god invent wine?
      So Dionysus could never rule the world.

      What is Mrs. Klumps favorite Disney movie?
      Hercules! Hercules!

      What did the Parthenon play in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief?
      A supporting role.

      What breed of horse was the Trojan horse?
      A nightmare.

      Is your name Hades because you are boring me to death!

      The awkward moment when you realize that you have a body of a Greek god.......the bottom half.

  2. Saved First Post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Saved First Post

    (and this is why it was late)

  3. Partying like it's 1999 by Robotbeat · · Score: 2

    I remember downloading web pages for display for later on my Windows CE Palm-sized PC Cassiopeia e-105 in 1999.

    Everything old is new again.

    1. Re:Partying like it's 1999 by mjwx · · Score: 1

      I remember downloading web pages for display for later on my Windows CE Palm-sized PC Cassiopeia e-105 in 1999.

      Everything old is new again.

      However, unlike WinCE, it will actually work.

      Google aren't claiming to have invented anything here, rather just introducing a feature that is new (to modern phone browsers). I can see this as being handy for people who commute, not just because there is little to no reception on the Tube (and spotty at best reception on the train to London) but because once you're in Bank, the towers are so overloaded and modern web pages so bloated that being able to load it from memory is much faster.

      Iphone users, you can expect Apple to announce they "invented" something similar in 18-36 months.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  4. they my have removed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They may have removed the slogan "...stuff that matters," but I am still shocked that this qualifies as news. Retarded. Where is a good website that has tech related news with quality conversation?

    1. Re:they my have removed... by Wootery · · Score: 1

      I'd recommend a site, but I don't care to steer more ACs their way.

    2. Re:they my have removed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some of us "AC"'s have been loyal /. contributors for years, yet /. editors decided to ban us by suggesting that an alternate website exists. That and the fallout when they tried to change /, into a full mobile experience (which dive bombed on them big time), a lot of us only lurk here now.
      Blame the eds for the bulk of the AC comments here.

  5. bah! why with the spam always by Blymie · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This has GOT to be an ad.

    What. The. Hell.

    "Hi, we've just added something that others have had for decades! We're the best (now for pay for ad placement)"

    At least in Seinfeld, that'd make an exceptionally overt joke about an ad placement.

  6. Nobody Cares by Now by bursch-X · · Score: 1

    Everyone is using Pocket for that anyway. Also who's using Chrome on Android? Can't even block any ads, sheesh.

    --
    There are two rules for success:
    1. Never tell everything you know.
    1. Re:Nobody Cares by Now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People like pocket? Firefox once had pocket. It was one of the most hated added features and caused a lot of people to jump ship. It is not included with Firefox anymore and for good reason.

    2. Re: Nobody Cares by Now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Man with hand in pocket feel cocky all day

    3. Re:Nobody Cares by Now by vux984 · · Score: 1

      I'm sure lots of People like pocket. Nobody objected to it as an addon.

      People hated that it was added directly to firefox, because it made absolutely no sense to do that; even people that like pocket could really justify that.

  7. Re:bah! why with the spam always by bursch-X · · Score: 3, Interesting

    When I submitted a story about the 1.0 release of our open source SDK for developing EC sites in Golang it was marked as spam, but this one isn't. GO FIGURE.

    --
    There are two rules for success:
    1. Never tell everything you know.
  8. Add? by barbariccow · · Score: 1

    To add a new feature, didn't it have to not be there before? This looks like they're just making sure accidental touching of a device you hold in your hands has more serious consequences..

  9. Print by Hentes · · Score: 2

    The weird thing is that while you couldn't save webpages on Chrome, it did allow you to print them. I guess with OTG you could connect a printer to your phone, but why on Earth would you want to do that?

    1. Re:Print by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They want you to use cloud print which goes through google.

    2. Re:Print by Wootery · · Score: 1

      Does that include 'printing' to PDF?

      Bonus: You're spared a website's JavaScript bullshit if you read it that way.

  10. Missing feature by lucm · · Score: 1

    If Chrome on Android would let me read web pages immediately I would be happy enough. It's so bad that the other day I went to the Play store to see if Edge was available for Android.

    --
    lucm, indeed.
    1. Re:Missing feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If chrome doesnt fit your needs there are much better browsers to look for than to look for edge. eg dolphin, opera, ghostery. Anyone voluntarily looking to install edge or internet explorer should be shot for trying to give microsoft a monopoly in the browser market again. They have proven time and time again when they are in a monopolist position they cannot be trusted and they abuse the power.

    2. Re:Missing feature by DrXym · · Score: 1

      Firefox for Chrome. It's a very good mobile browser and has add-ons to block ads etc.

    3. Re:Missing feature by dwarfking · · Score: 1

      I would just be happy if they would allow you to make permanent the setting to view the pages in desktop mode not in mobile mode.

      Firefox at least allows you to alter the user agent so on a large tablet you get the desktop page, not Chrome.

      You have to click a check box and reload on every page to get the desktop view.

    4. Re: Missing feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Try Sleipnir

  11. Prior art Freudian slip by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    Google: "Let's call it 'cash', I mean 'cache', and patent it."

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
    1. Re:Prior art Freudian slip by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Think you meant to post that here: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/17/05/08/020253

    2. Re:Prior art Freudian slip by Tablizer · · Score: 1, Funny

      On the evilness scale, Google and MS are in the same neighborhood, although MS has a Yuuuuge pedigree.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  12. Save to PDF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've been saving to PDF in Android for years. Upgrade to firefox already. Or any other browser. Hell, if you can get lynx for Android it will have this feature. Sad, really, that chrome is so far behind the times.

  13. Welcome to 1997 google by gitano_dbs · · Score: 3, Informative

    Netscape Communicator did this in 1997

    1. Re:Welcome to 1997 google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't find Netscape Communicator in the Google Play store.

    2. Re:Welcome to 1997 google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But the prior art may soon disappear from Google search results so make sure you do save those historical pages locally.

    3. Re:Welcome to 1997 google by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      In 1997 pages didn't change content while you visited them.
      In 1997 pages didn't instantly appear on any mobile device anywhere you went whenever you wanted.

      The number of scenarios that this applies to in the modern world is very limited compared to 1997.

    4. Re:Welcome to 1997 google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In 1997, all the idiots thought AOL and Yahoo was the internet so you could avoid their garbage noise.

    5. Re:Welcome to 1997 google by tepples · · Score: 1

      The last versions of Netscape (8 and 9) were based on Firefox. Firefox is on Google Play Store.

    6. Re:Welcome to 1997 google by Neuronwelder · · Score: 1

      Netscape in its early times was a very classy browser.

  14. Dynamic content? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So if I save a page from a regional "news" site and view it later will it give me the obligatory five second tease followed by full page pop-over telling me I need to buy a subscription to read these two paragraphs of "news" sandwiched between 2 dozen ads?

  15. Re:bah! why with the spam always by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Perhaps tomorrows article will be about Google's invention called About -box? Or will it be the "Refresh" button?

  16. YouTube by campuscodi · · Score: 1

    It would be nice if they did something similar for their YouTube app

    1. Re:YouTube by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean the "watch later" feature, which already exists?

  17. Offline browsing! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Omg offline browsing! I've had this since IE 4.0.

  18. Kaspersky install by tombale · · Score: 1, Informative

    If you need help on activation and installation please call USA 1-855-408-6697 for USA and +44 800-088-5029 for UK and 1-855-408-6697 for Australlia.Activate and install your Kaspersky online just by visiting www.Kaspersky.com/setup.

  19. Amateurs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://www.gnu.org/software/wget/manual/wget.html

    1. Re:Amateurs by tepples · · Score: 1

      I don't think GNU Wget retrieves required resources specified by scripts. A lot of sites nowadays use "lazy loading", where part of an HTML document doesn't download at all until the scroll position approaches it.

  20. Watch Later is a playlist by tepples · · Score: 1

    I thought Watch Later was just a playlist, and actual offline viewing were tied to the monthly subscription.

  21. Evernote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If I were an employee of Evernote I would be terrified - Chrome for free just stole the 'killer app' of their product.