Apps that enable you to send contact information and files from one device to another have been available for years now, but when it comes to sharing websites, email is often the best bet. Yup: if you want to open the page you’re looking at on your computer in your phone’s browser, often the easiest way to move the link around is emailing yourself. That just doesn’t seem right.
While many web browsers now offer the option of syncing open tab sessions between computers, the way synchronization has been implemented is not always ideal since they only work with other versions of the same browser. What if you use Chrome on your computer and Safari on your mobile devices?
This is where SendTab can help, making it possible to push tabs from one browser to another, on any device. Let’s see if it holds up to its promise.
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The SendTab Concept
SendTab is to tabs what CloudApp and Droplr are for files: it’s an easy way to share your tabs with your other browsers and devices. You do not have to sync entire browsing sessions, but instead you can choose exactly which tabs you would like to have pushed from one browser to another so they are available wherever you need them.
SendTab’s tagline sums up its raison d’être perfectly.
SendTab can be used in a number of ways. You could opt to use it like a version of Pocket or Instapaper, so can browse the web at work and send yourself a series of links to look at one your home computer, or you could use your desktop machine to push a set of tab to your phone or tablet to reads on the train on the way to work.
But the tool is more versatile than this. It can also be used to share tabs with multiple people at the same time. In order to do this you will all need to be connected to the same SendTab network, but it is an ideal option for friends, families and workers alike.
The great thing about SendTab is that it does not just save a list of URLs to the cloud ready for you to access later, ‘pushing’ tabs means pushing them. Opt to send a tab and it will be done there and then – if you push a tab from your laptop to your desktop computer, the tab will actually open up in your desktop’s web browser.
Getting Started
The first thing you’ll need to do is to pay a visit to the SendTab website and register for a new account. You’ll need to pick a name for your group of devices (something as simple as ‘Mark’s Computers’ will do the job), as well as choosing a password to keep things protected.
Signing up for SendTab account take just moments and gives you a secure network to use.
Next, enter a descriptive name for the computer or device you’re currently using – you’ll be able to use this for identification purposes later on. Click the button to install the required client and log into your newly created account when prompted to do so. A confirmation email will be sent out and by clicking the link it contains on each of your computers you can have them automatically added to your network.
Each of your devices can be assigned a name so you can easily identify it.
Browser Extensions
The next thing you’ll need to do is to install the browser extension. This is available for Chrome and Safari and makes it very simple to push tabs from your current machine to another one.
Browser extensions make SendTab a breeze to use in Chrome and Safari.
If you happen to prefer to use a different browser – such as Firefox – you’ll have to make do with a bookmarklet rather than a dedicated extension, but this works in much the same way.
A bookmarklet can be used to add SendTab to a browser for which no extension is available.
When you come across a site you’d like to push, click the toolbar button and select the browser or device you’re interested in. If you’ve created a network that is available to many people with whom you would like to share a link, the All Device option makes it possible to share to everyone in one fell swoop.
Pushing tabs between devices takes nothing more than a couple of mouse clicks.
But SendTab goes beyond this and also maintains a history of the tabs you share. This is helpful for a number of reasons. It not only helps you to track which web sites you have visited on different machines, but it also gives you the option of sharing pages to a computer regardless of whether it is switched or not.
Going Mobile
SendTab is very useful for anyone who uses more than one computer on a regular basis, but the availability of mobile apps means that it can also be used on phones and tablets. iPhone and iPad users can take advantage of the official SendTab iOS app which costs a mere $0.99.
With mobile apps available, tabs can also be sent to and from iOS and Android.
While there is no official app available for Android, if you are running a Google-powered phone or tablet there is still an app for you. Although not produced by the SendTab team, 2SendTab Pro is available in Google Play at a very slightly higher price and while not technically official, it is deemed good enough to be highlighted on the actual SendTab homepage.
Summing Up
SendTab takes a new look at the problem of getting links from one computer to another or sharing them with groups of people. It is a great amalgam that sits halfway between a syncing tool and a bookmarking tool.
This is a utility that takes a unique approach to solving a problem and comes up with a solution that is both ingenious and flexible. Take it for a test drive and see what you make of it.