Screen real estate is all the rage, especially on mobile devices, but Google is clearly trying to strip down and simplify ALL browsing solutions so that users have the most space available for consuming content. In Chrome this means tabs on the top with a back/forward/reload buttons, an Omnibar and a couple other tiny options.
If you could build your own browser, what would go where? Google’s been thinking that question through themselves and I have to say I’m impressed with one potential product called “Sidetab Navigation“. Just like it sounds, tabs are organized on the left side:
Take a look at what they consider strengths and weaknesses:
Strengths
- Saves vertical real estate for the content area
- Allows for a large number of tabs
- Allows fire-and-forget tab creation
Weaknesses
- Wasted space for users with few tabs
- Superb for full-screen on devices ~1366px wide, but wasteful on larger or smaller displays
- No clear relationship with Chromium browsers
I’m pretty sure ALL of the “strengths” and NONE of the “weaknesses” apply to me when I’m using my laptop computer. So it’s with great pleasure that I request Google make sidetabs available as a Chrome option! Do you agree?
