Google said that version 8 of its browser will be making a first appearance early next week.

The company notified its developers that the feature freeze and branching of its M8 milestone release is set for the beginning of next week. It appears that the staff already has plenty of work on the table – and if it is just about fixing the lose ends in Chrome 7.

Chrome 8 will surface as Chromium 8 and conclude the massive update for Chrome 7, which brought GPU acceleration, UI Tabs, subtle JavaScript improvements, more HTML 5 features as well as the Integration of Instant Search. With the branch to M8, Google will take the continue development into the eighth generation of the browser and the fifth generation change for the year.

If Google can keep its current pace, we expect the final version of Chrome 8 to be available before the end of the year. If you remember, Chrome stood at version 3 back in January. The final version 4 came in February, Chrome 5 in June and Chrome 6 in September. Google has recently accelerated the pace of browser development, which should bring a new version every six to eight weeks.

Chrome 8 seems to be prepared for the integration of cloud computing features, including cloud printing and a remoting host. As previously reported, Google recently patented browser cloud sync.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.