Google Launches 64 Chrome in Beta - No Stable Version Yet
This week Google released the first testing builds of a lightning fast 64-bit version of Chrome. The new project is expected to give users of the 64-bit Microsoft operating systems a more stable, secure, and speedier browsing experience.
At the moment the new-and-improved Chrome is still in the development phase, which means it can only be downloaded from the Canary and Dev channels. As such there are still plenty of bugs that need to be worked out.
Softpedia has done a test run of the latest build and after careful review they've determined that the new browser is vastly superior to its 32-bit counterpart, albeit with plenty of bugs and kinks that need to be addressed before an official release
Still, even in the testing phase the 64-bit Chrome is facilitating page load times that are at least 25% faster than the 32-bit version. While that may not sound like a massive enhancement, you can really notice the difference, especially when loading larger pages that contain a lot of media content.
Still Having Trouble with Flash Content
Unfortunately, there are still a few major bugs that keep the browser from being fully functional. First and foremost, it crashes immediately anytime you try to access Youtube or any other flash-based site.
The problem becomes even more frustrating if you happen to pin Youtube onto a tab and then close the browser, because then when you relaunch Chrome it instantly crashes before you have a chance to close the Youtube tab.
Other Flash-oriented video sites like Vimeo and Vine are reportedly causing the same problem on Windows 8.1.
Half-Visible Tabs in Higher Resolution
Another major issue is that half of the tab bar disappears when you try to enter fullscreen while in 1920x1080 resolution. In other words, devices with full HD enabled cannot properly display all aspects of the browser in fullscreen mode.
Although there is no way to fix this until Google releases a patch, the browser is still very much usable in full HD as long as you can get over the fact that you won't have access to the entire tab bar unless you minimize the window to a smaller size.
Limited Compatibility and Replaces Current Version of Chrome
Right now the 64-bit edition of Chrome is only compatible with Windows 7 and Windows 8. In addition to this limited compatibility, there is also the fact that the testing builds will automatically replace the stable version of Chrome that you have installed, so keep that in mind before you commit to testing it out.
Fortunately, all your settings and bookmarks will be automatically imported to the new version, so you won't have to worry about running a backup and transfer process.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that this unfinished version has a lot of room for improvement, it is already a preferable alternative for users of 64-bit machines running Windows 7 or 8 - as long as you don't plan on using it to watch videos on Youtube.
