Google is clearly entering the home stretch in the race to deliver app support in Google Chrome. Just last week, Chromium snapshot builds and Chrome Canary started supporting apps by default. Last night another change landed in the source code which brings full-blown app support closer to reality.

Like your extensions (and everything else which makes your Chrome install yours), installed Chrome apps will follow you across all your installs. The plumbing for app sync has already landed but is not yet active. There's really no reason for it to be at this point -- the Web Store isn't open yet and Canary is the only Chrome version with app support by default. As with extensions, expect Chrome to only sync those extensions that were downloaded from the Web Store.

While I'm willing to bet the Store will be open soon, we don't really have any clues as to when that might be. Well, at least not anything more precise than "before Chrome OS tablets wind up on retail shelves."