Web Bundles are available now through an experimental flag in Chrome, while background syncing and content indexing are only available as "origin trials."

Other updates are more about offering native-like features. An SMS Receiver allows text-base two-factor authentication for secure sign-ins, while a contact picker and a native file system framework respectively help you share and save data more like you'd expect.

It's up to developers to make use of these technologies, so don't expect the web to change overnight. That's particularly true when many website creators may want software-agnostic web apps that work equally well on Firefox, Opera, Safari and other common browsers. If enough web app writers do embrace this, though, Chromebooks may be more viable for people used to the performance and convenience of apps on other platforms.