Google Chrome to Kill the URL Bar?

February 22nd, 2011 by: Range

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Well, not really, but it looks like our overlords at Google are thinking about eliminating it in at least one browsing mode in their Chrome browser.

The thinking behind this is to shave some pixels off the height of the non-browsing parts of the browser. The new mockups that we’ve seen include Classic, Compact, Sidetab, and Touch versions. The Sidetab capability has actually been hiding in Chrome for a few months now, but the Compact version would do away with the URL bar, hiding navigation inside the tabs themselves. This means more vertical pixels and less scrolling.

Since Chrome currently has only somewhere around 15% of the browsing market, you might think that this doesn’t really matter, but anything that the big G does can have an impact on interface standards. I personally use the URL bar all the time, so I hope that Google doesn’t make this the default mode.

[Conceivably Tech via DVice]