Google Takes Chrome Out of Beta
After only 100 days and fifteen updates, Google has taken the "beta" label off Chrome, its WebKit based browser. Given that the company has a penchant for keeping products like Gmail or Google Docs in perpetual beta, it comes as a bit of a surprise that Google already considers Chrome to be a 1.0 product.
Since the first beta release, Google has focused on fixing stability issues (especially with regards to playing Flash video), sped up the already fast V8 JavaScript engine, and added a better bookmark manager and privacy controls.
Extensions Coming Soon
According to Google, the next step in the development of Chrome will be the addition of an extension architecture similar to Firefox's. Google is also planning to release Mac and Linux versions soon.
Lots of Users Already
Here at RWW, about 5.2% of our readers used Chrome in November (which is down from the 6.3% we saw when it launched in September and a lot of folks decided to give it a try) and a lot of our writers also use it on a daily basis. In comparison, about 2% of our readers use Opera and 9% use Safari.
A New Focus on Speed
If anything, the release of Chrome engine has made all the other browser developers focus on the speed of their JavaScript engines again, which can only be a good thing for those of us who spend a lot of our days in browsers. The only missing piece that is still holding Chrome back today is the absence of a good extension architecture.
Comments
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Yes, Chrome plus Adblock Plus = unbeatable, now if only Apple and Google... nevermind, Chrome will never be on the iphone but Safari is still pretty quick on the iphone.
I'm overall pretty happy with Chrome as a browser so far.
Posted by: iseeblack.us | December 11, 2008 12:35 PM
Chrome is my standard browser, and i don't regret it, but i miss an autocomplete feature. I don't know if Chrome has that feature, but i can't find it anywhere.
Despite of that, the browser is very lightweight and fast.
Posted by: Jorge | December 11, 2008 1:18 PM
If you're interested in how the Mac and Linux versions are developing, there are build instructions at http://code.google.com/p/chromium/wiki/MacBuildInstructions and http://code.google.com/p/chromium/wiki/LinuxBuildInstructions The build process is described pretty good, but it can take some time to check out the code and install all the necessary build tools.
I also post regular updates of the current Mac version at http://securityandthe.net/chrome/ and I expect both the Mac and Linux versions to appear at the Chromium Buildbot (http://build.chromium.org/buildbot/waterfall/) soon as well.
Posted by: Martin | December 11, 2008 1:39 PM
And Gmail, poor Gmail... it's still beta after 4 years.
Chrome sounds nice, but the complete lack of a Mac release means it's a non-starter for me and given the speed of FF3.1b2, I'm not sure what Chrome would really offer me at this point.
Posted by: rick | December 11, 2008 2:33 PM
Could they release the Mac version already? Please?
Posted by: Dale Cruse | December 11, 2008 4:08 PM
I second Dale. It's almost a crime to have a 1.0 product and not support Mac.
Yes Extension coming soon for Google Chrome ,but that doesn't make people to switch to Google Chrome from Firefox.
Posted by: venkat | December 11, 2008 9:37 PM
I would trade a "beta" tag for extensions any day. It's the biggest obstacle in my conversion to Chrome right now.
Posted by: Travis | December 12, 2008 10:36 AM
Google Chrome seems to keep up with the actual trends in the browsers market. But it still do not have all the features and functionality of the browsers that have a long history, such as Internet Explorer or a large community of developers such as Firefox. One thing is certain: three month 10 million users downloaded and installed Google Chrome. A question appear: what number of users will be in the next three month?
Posted by: Catalin Bocanu
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December 12, 2008 3:02 PM
I have liked Chrome from the 1st day, specially for its simplicity and speed. But I have finally switched back to Firefox, due to some nice extensions like Foxmarks, Adblock Plus.
Posted by: David Pérez | December 15, 2008 12:46 AM
I second Dale. It's almost a crime to have a 1.0 product and not support Mac
Posted by: دردشة | January 1, 2009 4:53 AM
Yes Extension coming soon for Google Chrome ,but that doesn't make people to switch to Google Chrome from Firefox
Posted by: Downloads | January 3, 2009 1:58 AM
This addon works fine in Chrome, albeit still under development: http://www.adsweep.org
Posted by: Google Chrome Adblock | January 5, 2009 7:38 AM