Save Webpages Offline On Chrome Mobile Devices

After adding support for offline videos in YouTube, similar additions in Chrome are Google’s next steps for its mobile platforms. The latest update will bring the ability to download webpages for later access, as well as a built-in Download Manager, lower memory usage and web-sharing features.

The download feature was first made available in the Chrome S5 Beta program, before arriving for everyone. The S5 update has already been released for the desktop version.

To download a webpage, you only must press a new download option, which is present at the top when you press the three dots on the side. Not only webpages, but also HTML5 videos and audios can be downloaded unless the site uses custom controls or the content is part of a stream. The content remains available offline for as long as you want, until you delete it yourself.

These changes come as a part of the new Download Manager built into Chrome for the first time, which is a move away from the conventional Android download manager.

There are new performance enhancements, as well. JavaScript is handled more efficiently, resulting in a 50-percent drop in RAM usage, followed by a feature which frees up unused zones in script after the page has loaded.

Lastly, there’s a new Web Share API, which allows webpages to instantly share content with the apps installed on your phone. There are improvements in Search and spell-checking software, as well.

Expect to see the update in an action through a rollout in the near future.

Opera’s Power Saving Mode Offers Twice the Laptop Battery Life as Chrome

Opera is currently on a roll. As the date of its buyout through a Chinese consortium come closer, it is trying what it can to get as many users on board as possible. The latest such feature is the new Power saving mode, available currently only on the developer version of Opera but could make its way to the users soon.

The feature is targeted specially towards users who are usually on the move and want to get the most out of their battery life. Opera claims that its browser with the power saving mode on can result in a battery life which is twice that of contemporary browsers such as Firefox and Chrome.

Opera has done a few things to make this possible. When in the mode, the activity on background tab hinders, frame rate reduces, animations are paused, while unused plug-ins are paused. JavaScript use is scheduled more prudently, while more work is loaded at hardware acceleration.

To verify these findings, Opera tested its claims on two different laptops from Lenovo and Dell, and found that while the ones without the setting ran out of juice in under two hours, the ones running the power saving mode reached almost three.

The option can be accessed whenever your laptop is disconnected from its charger. The browser will alert you once your battery reaches 20 percent to turn on the mode.

Opera has been adding features to its portfolio quite rigorously. It first became the initial mainstream browser to feature a built-in ad-blocker (which is both faster and less of a resource-hog than AdBlock) then it brought the same feature on mobile. It also brought a built-in VPN to its users, meaning this power saver is just a link in this chain of developments.