Okay Geek Farm
t3ch Review - Rockmelt the Social Browser
Connor Scalleat
Rockmelt is a brand new browser which is currently available on an invite only basis and in a beta stage, and is trying to revolutionize the way we think browsers should operate, and how they should interact with services on the web. Below is our screencast demonstrating the browsers advantages, and disadvantages in everyday life on the interwebs.
The Review
Rockmelt is built on-top of the chromium open source project (based off Apple’s WebKit). This means that the entire Google Chrome Extensions store is available to all Rockmelt users and it operates the same as it would on Chrome. Despite the same install process and mostly the same UI of the extensions that are installed I did found a few bugs. An example of one of the bugs that I found was that the Speed Dial extension, one of my favorites to run on Chrome, was unable to run with Rockmelt. This wouldn’t matter to me that much overall, but the way the browser organizes there “top sites” feature when you open a new tab is horrendous.
Rockmelt pushes one main claim to fame, that is the social browser. We have seen social browsers in the past such as Flock, but Rockmelt blows them out of the water, and here’s why. Rockmelt has two main share buttons built into the browser along with a third which is right click to share. Along with having share buttons conveniently located you can also update your Twitter and Facebook status via the pre-installed extensions.
All extensions are placed on the right hand side of the browser which I feel is a better set-up then Chrome’s default in the top toolbar, which can get cluttered up, fast. On the right hand side you have Facebook chat. With Rockmelt’s implementation of Facebook chat you can select a favorites list and do a lot more then chat with the person when selecting their user icon.
Once you have opened their account via the sidebar you can either chat with them, view their wall, post something onto their wall, or send them a message. For me this is one of the greatest things a browser has ever done for me, and it is what really caused me to switch. No more dealing with Adium (Open-source Mac OSX IM client) running in a different space or on the side taking up space, and especially no more dealing with painstaking Facebook chat on Facebook. “Poink”
The UI in Rockmelt feels like a more Macafied version of Chrome, along with the productivity that a browser like Opera would provide. If your scared that you are not going to be able to run intensive web pages, don’t worry the Rockmelt team is advancing in HTML5 as we speak and trying to keep their platform as up to date as they can whenever there’s an update to the Chromium project.
The tab system in Rockmelt is nothing fantastic, it is exactly the same as Chrome. When running a multitude of tabs the browser does seem to slow down more then Safari or Chrome would and I can imagine this is because of everything that is running in the side. Despite how much is running in the browser, it doesn’t feel as bloated as Firefox and seems to run smoothly during average use.
When opening Rockmelt, it connects to your Facebook account which is really handy because all the information to fill in forms etc is taken from your account. Another handy feature is it remembers all your bookmarks, meaning you can go on any computer log in to Rockmelt with your Facebook and everything that you had on your computer at home is now with you.
Overall I feel like Rockmelt is a very sturdy platform and will be bringing some much needed care to the social browsing market, with it’s Chromium backend. The browser is packed with features by default, and will never lack extensions or add-ons with the Chrome Extension store. Facebook chat on the side is something I have been waiting for awhile and Rockmelt did an amazing job with it. If I am this happy with it in beta, I can’t wait to see what happens between now and the final release.
What do you think of Rockmelt and how it could be changing the way we browse, or is it not even accomplishing that?
