10 Popular Chrome Apps to Run With the Google Browser

by Don Reisinger

Microsoft’s Outlook.com is what you’d expect from an app running in Chrome: It’s fast, easy to access and functional. The app provides full access to a user’s Outlook account, including email and social networking integration. The app also includes access to Office Web Apps, allowing for cloud-based creation and editing of Office documents. It’s available for free.

TweetDeck has long been a popular application for those who want to have quick and expansive access to Twitter. With this free app, users will find a design that mimics that of the desktop program downloaded from the TweetDeck site and boasts the ability to track real-time conversations across multiple accounts. It’s an ideal solution for marketers and others who need to see what’s happening on Twitter and keep up with multiple accounts.

Google Maps seems like an obvious choice for a Chrome app. The free application provides full access to Google Maps, including the ability to find directions, pan around a map and check out current traffic. It’s a must-have.

Chrome Remote Desktop is exactly what one might expect: an application that allows users to remotely access and control a desktop running Windows, OS X or Linux. The application works like remote-desktop service TeamViewer, requiring access codes to get into a PC. The free app is a nice addition for anyone who wants quick access to their computer, regardless of where they are.

Full Screen Weather from Weather Underground is a full-featured app providing everything from local forecast information to radar. Users can also search for weather in other areas and monitor hurricane activity around the world. Weather Underground even includes live weather cameras to see what conditions are like in a given area. It’s a nice, free app.

Pixlr Editor attempts to bring the full photo-editing feature set to the browser. The app includes everything from color correction to the ability to create an entirely new image from scratch. The free Pixlr Editor is by no means PhotoShop, but novices or those who want to do a quick touch-up on images will find it quite useful.

Looking for a simple way to send and receive fax messages? HelloFax might just do the trick. The free app requires users to input a fax number and then they’re off. All fax messages received to that number are sent to the user via PDF, and the application even includes the ability to sign documents right from within the program. And since the app is running in the Chrome Web Store, the company provides automatic storage in Google Drive.

With National Security Agency document leaks inspiring more and more fear around the world, Privacy Palette seems like a worthwhile option. The free app includes a host of privacy features, including the ability to disable tracking, control ads and manage privacy settings across multiple Websites. The app will also clear browsing data from the user’s computer. The app won’t stop the NSA, but it’ll definitely make for a less conspicuous browsing experience on the Web.

Wave Accounting, another free app, is designed to replace services like Peachtree and QuickBooks, and put all of a small business’s accounting in the browser. The app offers the ability to post transactions, create invoices, handle payroll and create reports. It also turns out financial statements to see what’s happening at any given moment in time. It’s a nice app for no cost to download.

UberConference was created by the folks behind Google Voice. The application is a free conference-calling service that gives folks a number to dial in, collaboration tools and full scheduling capabilities. There’s a Pro version that adds extra features, like choosing a local number, but the free version works exceptionally well.