New Chrome Beta release renders web pages as you type, screens downloads

Fast is never fast enough for Google. Case in point: The latest version of Chrome Beta, Google’s testbed browser for those who want to browse on the bleeding edge, now loads web pages while you type.

“To get you where you want to go even faster, Chrome will now start loading some web pages in the background, even before you’ve finished typing the URL in the omnibox,” Google software engineer Dominic Hamon wrote in a blog post on the release. “If the URL auto-completes to a site you’re very likely to visit, Chrome will begin to prerender the page.”

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The speedy new feature reminds us a lot of Google Instant, a lightning-fast 2010 search enhancement that returns results as you type.

The new Beta release has also been infused with security features to better protect users as they download files from the web. The browser can now scan the executable files you download — .exe and .msi files only to start — to determine whether they are malicious in nature, and provide with you warnings to keep you informed.

The update demonstrates Google’s ongoing commitment to speed and security. Once the new features make their way over to the stable version of Chrome (a Google rep said a date hasn’t been set yet), they’ll certainly help make the company’s increasingly popular browser further stand out from the likes of Safari, Internet Explorer and Firefox.

Image courtesy of thesussman/Flickr