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The skeptics (including me) said it would never happen. Why would Google build a browser? Aren't they working hand in glove with Mozilla? Weren't they a huge sponsor of Mozilla? Didn't they love the Firefox guys? Well, Google proved us all wrong. Today, Google announced their newest project: Google Chrome, a new radical browser.
Why Chrome?
Because it's shiny! No, seriously, the reason Chrome was built is simple. Google's site says that they suddenly thought about how amazing a browser built from the ground up would be. After all, the web's evolved far past searching for websites. We bank, we email, and some (like yours truly) even do our word processing online. Yet, we use browsers meant for viewing web pages. So Google decided to change that.
What's So Special?
First, Chrome is light and fast. It's powered by the open-source WebKit browsing engine. That means it can browse any page Safari supports, and then some. WebKit passes the Acid3, is faster and lighter than Gecko, and works on all platforms. Additionally, Chrome makes each tab its own "sandbox". In layman's terms, each tab runs its own process. So when you're browsing the NYTimes, you don't need to let that huge Flash file slow up your entire browsing time.
It also has an awesome Suggest bar. Sound similar to Firefox's Awesome Bar? It is, but better. Unlike Firefox, it will actually pull in popular Google results. If you've ever used Google Suggest, you'll recognize that it (which, coincidentally, just got out of Labs) works very similarly to the bar in Chrome.
Since Google is a web applications company, Chrome is centered around the web apps. Google Gears is included, making it easy to run compatible applications offline. That's right: you can run Google Docs even when you're on a plane over the Atlantic with no wifi. You can also add "Application Shortcuts", which is a Mozilla Prism-like feature that lets users launch web apps in their own little Chrome (minus all the fancy controls and such).
And of course, there are all the other features you'd expect a web browser to have. It can view sites. It can render them flawlessly. It's the first browser I've reviewed in a LONG time that will load Gmail out of the box (then again, it's Google). It's got a few others, like an "incognito mode" (basically, no one can catch you browsing around on that site you shouldn't be on), antiphishing (powered, of course, by Google), and a nifty tab manager that shows the memory usage of each tab (which is a feature I've wished Firefox had for a LONG time).
Windows Supremacists
Google, unfortunately, decided to release it as soon as it could. That meant that Linux and Mac users were sacrificed, and that XP and Vista users are the only ones that can use Chrome. Luckily, Google has promised to keep us posted. The site says that
Google Chrome for Linux is in development and a team of engineers is working hard to bring it to you as soon as possible.
The Mac version says something similar (basically, replace Linux with Mac). Knowing Google, I'd imagine it wouldn't take too long. But will it be a native solution, or (as with Picasa) a Wine-based solution? I hope that Larry and Sergey take pity on us and spare us the latter.
There's another huge piece that Chrome lacks: extensions. Firefox has them, and that's why it's the king of the open-source world and a competitor for the closed-source. Opera's popular, but that's because they did the Mozilla Suite the right way. Google needs to incorporate some sort of extension feature into Chrome. Right now, there isn't any. Extensions get developers excited and the users excited. I can't live without AdBlock and Greasemonkey, and Chrome just doesn't have that.
Conclusion
Despite these few shortcomings, Google Chrome is a noble effort by Google. I expected it to fail, but now I have renewed hope. WebKit, powerful, light, and brandname. For once, I think there is an application that can take on Firefox.
