Google Chrome Web Store Looks to Entice Developers

by Clint Boulton

It’s hard for users to find Web applications, according to Sundar Pichai, vice president of product management for Chrome, who provided the Chrome Web Store demo at I/O.

For example, it’s hard to find a great chess game online. Chrome Web Store is geared to help this issue.

Here is a glimpse of Web apps Pichai has installed on a New Tab page on Google Chrome. Note the Web Store icon. This, folks, is an idea of what Chrome on Chrome OS will be like.

HTML5-based TweetDeck in Chrome sports full drag-and-drop action.

The early Chrome Web Store gallery features games such as Dark Room, Lego Star Wars and other apps such as Pandora, Digg and Zoho. Here users can find ratings, reviews, user counts and more info on each Web app. Prices for paid apps are listed, too.

Chrome Web Store offers an easy purchase process, likely backed by Google Check Out. Once the user sets up an account for the store, they may purchase apps in one click.

Games, such as this Adobe Flash-based Plants and Zombies favorite, are played right in the browser.

This is a 3D game playing in Chrome, thanks to Google’s Native Client technology. Lego Star Wars maker Unity is looking to get all its games on Chrome with the help of Chrome, Pichai said.

Countering Apple’s iPad, Google is touting magazine apps in the Chrome Web Store. Sports Illustrated editor Terry McDonell prepares to show off the SI app in the emerging store.

Check out SI’s magazine content as an app for Google’s Chrome Web Store. McDonell called it a “tightly edited, curated, free, open, social, searchable take on sports that you can customize yourself by rearranging it.”

Chrome Web Store will help Chrome developers reach 70 million Chrome browser users.

The store will work on all versions of Chrome on Windows, Mac and Linux and Chrome OS later this year. Free and paid apps will be supported.