Google’s New Browser – Google Chrome
By Kris Themstrup In Industry News
It wasn’t a quiet Labor Day over at Microsoft, that’s for sure. Online sources began reporting early today that Google would be releasing a new browser, dubbed Google Chrome to directly compete with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. The download will be available tomorrow in as many as 100 countries worldwide. The Google Blog officially announced the launch today at 2:10pm PST.
Chrome is an open-source browser running on WebKit, the same engine that powers Apple’s Safari and Google’s own Android mobile platform. WebKit is known for its speed, reliability and smart memory usage. Because many online applications are being run in browsers, Google is tailoring Chrome to that market specifically. Obviously, this is a direct attempt to garner some of Microsoft’s share of the browser market, of which they currently have a 74% hold, with second-place Firefox at 18% and Apple’s Safari at 6%.
For more information on Google Chrome, here’s the summary of the release, along with some of the features, and the official Google blog post on the subject.
Diane Creston
What do you think the impact of the new IE8 with its cloaking tools will be on advertising for Google and other online networks?
Kris
Diane, you’ve asked a question many online marketers are asking. With the new cloaking and security features in IE8, along with many other browsers, including Google’s Chrome, advertising with engines and networks could become more tricky. Much of the advertising backbone is built on browser cooperation, especially when it comes to local search. This could force marketers to reduce spending until they’ve thoroughly tested the new standards. In my opinion, we could see some caution, but I don’t expect too much difference overall.
Kris
UPDATE: The official download for Chrome should be available later today, but in the meantime you can find the comic book used to explain the release, and some Chrome screenshots to tide you over.
Kris
Google Chrome is now available for download!
http://www.google.com/chrome
steve
Check this out… here caught on video is what happenned on my very first test of google chrome: ads with no content! (Is this where the web is headed? If so, I want to be making the money from the clicks!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTd8IZUrNZ0
Kris
Steve- I’ve noticed similar problems with other sites when testing Chrome, content is hit or miss. The beta still has a ways to go to catch up with IE and FF, although I am impressed by the speed and the threading. A couple of my biggest issues: The scroll wheel will only scroll down a page, and not up; very little customization features; fonts seem very pixelated, no smoothing at all. Although these aren’t deal-breakers, I’m not in the Chrome camp until these are corrected.
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