Phase 1: Setup for success
Like any new hire, your new Chrome PA will need a little setting up. Once you’ve logged into your Google Account, it will only take a few minutes to introduce Chrome to all your devices and have them working as a dream team.
Step 1: Install and sign in to Chrome
By installing Chrome for free on your phone and other devices it can be the “glue” that brings your digital life together. Once installed go to the Chrome menu icon and select “sign into Chrome”. By signing into Chrome, it will now be able to remember your preferences like bookmarks and themes so you don’t have to login in multiple times or look up pages more than once — saving your precious time.
Step 2: Synchronise and streamline
Now that you have Chrome on your devices and you’re signed in, you can make moving between your phone, computer and tablet a seamless experience by syncing your tabs across your devices. This means you’ll be able to access whatever you were running on your home computer, office computer or tablet, on your Android smartphone or iPhone. By enabling bookmark sync, so you don’t need to manually recreate bookmarks each time you switch computers — just fire up Chrome, log-in, and your bookmarks will appear.
Step 3: Install your everyday apps and extensions
Now that your devices are linked, make sure you’ve got all the apps you need every day right at your fingertips. In the Chrome Web Store you can find thousands of apps including the Google Maps, Drive, Calendar, Gmail, Google+ and YouTube. Once installed you’ll be able to click on the icon and Chrome will open the site page in a special, non-tabbed window designed to feel just like the computer applications you’re used to. You can also use extensions to add features and personalize your browser and remove everything else that just gets in the way.
Phase 2: Set your Chrome Personal Assistant to work!
Now you’ve got apps and extensions installed and your devices linked, Chrome is set up like a digital handbag containing everything you need.
Step 4: Plan your day in the morning and take it all with you
In the morning, plan your day on your laptop or tablet. Look up that new daycare location on Google Maps, schedule school pick-ups with your partner with shared Google calendars, start a guestlist for your weekend party in Drive and share it with your friends, and look up recipes for tonight’s dinner. Even if you get interrupted, whatever you’ve started you’ll be able to pick up again on your mobile as you take your day and your plans with you in Chrome.
Step 5: Stay connected on the go
Using your phone as a mini-computer 'on-the-go', everything you planned in the morning is waiting in Chrome for you. Follow the directions you’ve already looked up in Google Maps while on the road. Can’t remember what you decided to cook for dinner? No problem, open up that recipe again from your browser directly from the shopping aisle. Just found out that you have friends from interstate in town this weekend? Pop them on the guest list with your Drive mobile app. Spotted a great article in (insert) while on the train? Use an extension like Pocket to save it and read later.
Step 6: Communicate and share with the people who matter most
Now that Chrome has got your digital life in order, why not take advantage of your additional time to communicate with the people who matter most in your life? If your kids don’t get to visit their grandparents as much as you’d like, why not set up a Hangout between them? Start a Hangout from your computer via your Google+ page, or your phone/tablet via the Google+ mobile app. You can also start a Hangout within your Gchat windows.
Instant upload: any photos you take on your mobile device will be automagically backed up in the cloud — no need for uploading or wires. Make sure your device has Instant Upload enabled for this feature, and any photos you take will be saved in the Instant Uploads album in Google+ (they are all private until you decide to share them).
Events: Are you throwing a birthday party for one of your kids? An easy way to manage sending out invitations is by Google+ Events. Events are synced with invitees’ Google Calendars, and with Party Mode, guests can share photos in real time to the same photo album.
