Best Chrome extensions to synchronize with your Android

For those who aren’t familiar with Chrome Browser extensions for the popular browser, these are small programs that add functionality to the browser and personalize the browsing experience. Available for most platforms including Windows, OSX, and Linux, we highlight 5 of the best integrated and useful extensions that work in harmony with Android devices.

All synchronized between your PC and mobile device. / © Read it later Inc.

Pocket

Pocket is one of the most useful “save it for later” extensions that allows you to mark your favorite websites, articles, videos, and pictures for viewing later. This extension is available for Android, iOS, and Kindle Fire. As one of the longest running applications in the Android world, it is perfectly integrated into more than 280 apps.

Pocket is very configurable on your smartphone, tablet, or computer. You can customize the way you view your stored items, change the interface themes between a few different options, how often you want to synchronize your data and also can specify whether you want to sync only when connect to Wi-Fi to avoid data charges. A star feature for us is that you can also enable your saved content to be viewable offline, so if you’re looking to read something you’ve saved earlier in the day when you don’t have any network connectivity, you can do so. One caveat is that videos aren’t available to be saved offline and must be viewed later with a connection.

The extensions itself is called Save to Pocket and add an icon into the navigation bar of the browser. If you click on it when viewing a webpage, it will save the contents of the website and you can add tags to categorize it. This is a very comprehensive and highly recommended application for those who like to keep up to date on their favorite websites or just want to save stuff to read later when they’ve got the time.

Chrome to Mobile

In the same vein as Pocket, Chrome to Mobile is a simple way to send something you are viewing n Chrome on your PC straight to your smartphone.  This is a perfect extensions for those who don’t want a complicated way of sending content to your mobile device. With a small icon on the taskbar, you can select which device you want to send the content to and then, BAM, it’s pushed over to it.

You must have a Google Chrome account for this to work and to enable syncing between both devices. Chrome Mobile is available for devices running Android 4.0 and up.

Feedly Mini

Feedly is probably one of the most popular RSS pieces of software available on your PC and mobile device and its extensions definitely deserves some praise as well. With the extension Feedly Mini, a small transparent icon is displayed at the bottom of each pages and gives you the ability to quickly and easily add the webpage to your Feedly feed. Among the options displayed, you can save it for later, e-mail it, tweet it, or tag it in your account.

The icon is unobtrusive and brings up a ton of options when required. / © Feedly

Evernote Web Clipper

Another option for saving content, this time under the popular Evernote application, the Evernote Web Clipper. When installed, the extension displays an icon next to the address bar and gives you a quick and easy way for you to save content. You can save the entire article or web page,  a simplified version of the article, create a bookmark from the page you’re on, or even just take a screenshot of the page you’re on.

 

Evernote Web Clipper also has a full editor that allows you to customize your selection and add tags and comments in your saved content. Everything syncs seamlessly between your device and Evernote account.

Hangouts

Yes, there is an extension for Chrome for the popular messenger client from Google. What theHangouts extension does is that it adds an icon next to the address bar and submenus at the bottom of the browser. The submenus contain different chat we have with our contacts and it includes the option to make video calls with up to 10 different people and to send voice messages to our contacts. The menus are hidden discretely, but will pop up when you hover your mouse pointer over the corresponding area. For advanced options, you’ll need to sync up your Google+ account.

The extension notifies when you have incoming messages and you can configure exactly what kind of notifications you receive and what sound they play. A good way to get your SMS and other messages on your computer and have it all sync up.