With day 2 of Google's I/O 2012 conference underway the Internet giant is following up from yesterday's Android-related announcement by shifting its focus to Chrome. Namely, the company has confirmed that the fast and full-featured browser will be available later today in Apple's App store for both iPhones and iPads.
This marks the first time Google's browser is available on iOS and comes hot on the heels of the first stable release on Android devices. The mobile version includes many of Chrome's signature features on the desktop, including an anonymous "incognito" mode and synchronization across devices, so you can access the same open tabs, bookmarks and browsing history from your phone, tablet or desktop.
Unfortunately, users still don't have the option to choose a third-party browser as default on the iPhone or iPad, so any links that users open from another app will still load in Safari.
The company also provided all attendees with a new Chromebox and announced retail plans for its Chromebook line of Chrome OS powered laptops. Google is making Chromebooks available at brick-and-mortar retail outlets for the first time, including 100 Best Buy stores in the U.S. and at Dixons in the U.K.
For now it appears that only the Samsung Chromebook Series 5 550 announced last month is getting shelf space at Best Buy --- not that there are a lot of options to choose from online. Google says it's working with partners to launch a new round of Chromebooks in time for the holiday season.
In other announcements, Google made its its cloud-syncing Google Drive service available for iOS and Chrome OS, complementing the already supported Windows, Mac OS X, and Android. On the business and productivity front, the company announced offline editing for Google Docs, and unveiled a cloud service for businesses called Google Compute Engine that will compete directly against Amazon and Microsoft.