There’s a new browser in town, RockMelt, and for now, it is available on a limited beta release. Meant to serve up the internet to users “the way people use the web today”, RockMelt focuses more on its interface than on pure performance, with “friends, feeds, and sharing” at its core. However, while it doesn’t hope to be the fastest browser around, you can be sure that it’s no slouch, as it built on top of the Google Chrome open source code (Chromium).
RockMelt intends to be the one browser that will allow people to “share easily”, “search faster”, “connect with friends”, and “keep up on the news”, using its native interface advantageously. The entire browser is targeted towards audiences who use Facebook and Google on a regular basis, and let’s face it, that’s quite a large number.
Here’s what RockMelt’s founder and CEO, Eric Vishria, thinks about his company’s efforts: “Today’s Web users need a browser that does more than just navigate pages. RockMelt helps people do the things they do every single day – keep up with their friends, share, get updates, and search. We are very excited to begin offering early access to the RockMelt beta as we begin the race to our first million users.”
[RELATED_ARTICLE]The interface, using sidebars/panes, sports deep integration of several online services, such as Google, Facebook and Twitter, RSS feeds, and will not require the user to sign-in multiple times into multiple accounts, and allow for speedier, uninterrupted sharing and viewing, even while browsing unrelated or non-social networking sites. A user’s friends from various services are listed on the left pane/column, and from their, users will be able to chat, share, and update from wherever they are on the web. Sharing is simple, and the prominent share button takes care of it all with one-click.
Twitter and RSS feeds use push notifications to inform the user about pending unread messages and posts, as well as for updates and news
Google Search results are purportedly also improved, with the search box opening a new box of its own once queries, allowing the user to see results previewed in the box, and can flip through them, thereby eliminating the need to repeatedly revert to the conventional Google Search results page. Check out the official video below, showing off the browser’s many unique features:
As we mentioned earlier, RockMelt is available as a limited beta right now for both Mac and Windows, and you have a chance of getting early access to this version by divulging your Facebook details with Facebook Connect. In the time remaining between its full release and now, we hope RockMelt listens well to user feedback, and ends up providing something that everyone wants. Their take on what a browser can be is certainly refreshing, and aptly fits the company’s goal: “Your Browser. Re-imagined.”