[javascript] Chrome, Javascript, window.open in new tab

This will open the link in a new tab in Chrome and Firefox, and possibly more browsers I haven't tested:

var popup  = $window.open("about:blank", "_blank"); // the about:blank is to please Chrome, and _blank to please Firefox
popup.location = 'newpage.html';

It basically opens a new empty tab, and then sets the location of that empty tab. Beware that it is a sort of a hack, since browser tab/window behavior is really the domain, responsibility and choice of the Browser and the User.

The second line can be called in a callback (after you've done some AJAX request for example), but then the browser would not recognize it as a user-initiated click-event, and may block the popup.