Bookmark synchronisation across multiple devices

Over the past year I have used various tablets, running both Android and iOS. Although at first it feels like having yet another device, there are ways to set them up so that you can enjoy the same experience, whichever device you are using.  Having all your bookmarks synchronised across multiple devices is of great help if you are looking to minimise the inconvenience associated with the use of different devices.

Android tablets

Android tablets work best with Chrome, Google’s lightweight and probably best browser around. Your android tablet automatically imports your Chrome bookmarks and keep them in sync. If you are using a different browser (Firefox, IE or Safari) best to export your bookmarks as an HTML file, and import them into Chrome – even if you do not intend to use Chrome as your mainbrowser. As long as you set Chrome with your Google account, all your bookmarks will automatically appear on your tablet and be kept in sync at all times. So changes made on the tablet will reflect into Chrome, and vice versa.   Unfortunately the feature is not available on Android phones as they do not make use of Chrome, but the feature will be rolled out as phones get upgraded to the latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich aka Android 4.0 for which Google has just released Chrome.

IPads

IPads work best with Safari, and you do not have to use a Mac to operate Safari – download Safari for both Mac and PCs running Windows Vista/7. On the iPad, Safari comes pre-installed so you don’t have to download it. As long as you activate iCloud on your iPad (go into Settings/iCloud and switch on bookmark sync) all your bookmarks will be in sync. To import your bookmarks from IE or Chrome into Safari on the desktop, you will need to export them from IE or Chrome into an HTML file. Then, double click the file and the list of favourites will appear in Safari. You can then arrange them into folders in Safari. As long as you have downloaded and activated iCloud (look for a forthcoming post on iCloud) your bookmarks will be kept in sync between Safari on the pc and Safari on the iPad – and the synchronisation is instantaneous!

Alternatively, Google has now released its (free) Chrome browser for iPads. The only downside of Chrome is that you can’t set it as your default browser on the iPad – this is one of many annoyances with Apple’s walled garden. This means any http link will automatically open in Safari, not Chrome. You will have to launch Chrome, then copy/paste the url in order to open it in Chrome. Having said that, I read Chrome is performing very well on the iPad. If you use Chrome, log in as yourself and all your Chrome bookmarks will automatically sync across all your Chrome devices (web, iPad and of course, Android devices).

Having all your bookmarks in sync across multiple devices is a winner and a real productivity boost.