Chrome for Android's hidden feature: PC-to-mobile page beaming

Google's Chrome for Android browser is finally here -- and the app has plenty of features packed inside its virtual walls.
One interesting feature that hasn't gotten much attention yet is the browser's new integrated "Chrome to Mobile" capability. The feature allows you to wirelessly beam a Web page from your PC to your tablet or phone, but if you don't know how to find it, you might not even know it's there.
Here's the trick: In order to use the Chrome to Mobile feature, you need to first find and install the Chrome to Mobile extension on your desktop Chrome browser. (I already took care of the first part for you -- just use the link above.) Then, once you complete a quick initial setup, a small phone icon will appear at the right of your browser's address bar.
When you want to send a Web page from your computer to your phone or tablet, all you have to do is click that icon. A dialog box will pop up that lets you pick which device you want to use (assuming you have more than one Android device connected -- like a phone and a tablet, for example). The box will also give you an option to make the Web page available for offline viewing on your mobile device.


Sound familiar? It should: It's basically a variation on the Chrome to Phone app that's been around for some time. It does have some important differences, though:

1. Chrome to Mobile is integrated directly with the Chrome Android browser, while Chrome to Phone sends info to your phone and then lets you decide what happens to it from there.
2. Chrome to Mobile lets you choose which of your connected devices will receive the link; Chrome to Phone automatically sends data from your computer to every connected device, every time.
3. Chrome to Mobile is limited only to Web page transmissions. Chrome to Phone, in contrast, can send links, maps, and any type of text from your computer to your phone or tablet.
4. Finally, Chrome to Mobile has a one-click option to make any page you're sending available for offline viewing. Chrome to Phone does not include that feature.

Is your head hurting yet? Yeah -- mine, too. Given the level of overlap between these two apps, not to mention their almost-identical names, my suspicion is that Google will eventually merge them together to create one giant catch-all application. It really doesn't make much sense to have both of them out there in the wild when they're so confusingly similar.
For now, though, if you want to send Web pages from your desktop browser to your phone or tablet -- and you want to be able to select individual devices and make pages available for offline viewing -- the new Chrome to Mobile app is what you need. For more general link- and info-sharing from your computer to your phone or tablet, Chrome to Phone has you covered.