Google has rolled out an experimental Chrome extension dubbed ‘Tone’ which will let users share a URL with nearby devices using just an audio signal.
“As digital devices have multiplied, so has the complexity of coordinating them and moving stuff between them. Tone grew out of the idea that while digital communication methods like email and chat have made it infinitely easier, cheaper, and faster to share things with people across the globe, they’ve actually made it more complicated to share things with the people standing right next to you. Tone aims to make sharing digital things with nearby people as easy as talking to them,” Google said in a blog post.
The blogpost added that while the first version resulted in some fun at Google, they have found themselves “using it to share documents with everyone in a meeting quickly, to exchange design files back and forth while collaborating on UI design and to contribute relevant links without interrupting conversations.”
Google Tone works by adding a button on the right hand side of the URL bar which, when clicked, emits a pleasant-sounding voice from the device. This sound acts as a code for other systems within range which have the extension activated on their Chrome browser. The browser extension on Chrome detects the sound and then notifies the receiver with an option to accept the code. If accepted, the link opens in a new tab on the recipient’s computer.
It is to be noted that users will need to be logged into their Google account to use Google Tone, and their microphone will be turned on when the extension is on.
The working version of the Google Tone extension is now available at the Chrome web store. The extension is available for desktops only.
