Google Launches Its Own Web Browser

Perhaps another way to **** Microsoft off, as Online applications will be the future.

couldn't care less for online apps, i'm still pretty much old skool in that respect: but i like the "sandbox" thing, oh so many times firefox crashes, taking about 50 opened tabs with it, too. it does have a restore functionality, though...

I'm sure there's good arguments for extending functionality to fit the latest killer web apps. As a case in point, most people will agree online geographical mapping was truly shocking until Google Maps arrived, and that exploited existed technologies like Javascript. With improved functionality we can hope apps are even more impressive, faster and reduced CPU load! I'm just not so sure Google could resist advertising tie-ups or other branding if they developed a consumer base - with a browser suite Google have some control over your user experience on any site.
Most importantly though: why does the logo look like a Poké Ball??

we are still waiting for a browser that can kill/close a tab or window instantly while it hangs 'forever' waiting for response from the 'other side'

If you ask me, looks like Big Brother just got bigger!

Agree completely. I'm not interested in online apps or 'cloud' computing - I want it on my PC. Looks like some interesting features though, timed to doubtless annoy Microsoft as their IE8 beta 2 goes more publically available (going to preview that one too TR?)

I don't really like the name but I like the sound of the technology underneath. Sadly, rather than cannibalise Microsoft's market share for IE (which is likely to remain pretty solid in certain sectors) I can see a bunch of early adopter-types moving away from Firefox 3 to Chrome. Assuming it's any good (and that people can live without their plugins!)

google are gonna be watching you...

The logo looks like that old Simon Says game from the 80s :)

Well, I think a lot of you didn't really take a good look at the information available. First of all it's open source, so anyone can take it and make their own version of it and if there's any dodgy stuff, then it can be stripped out.
Secondly, you can kill tabs that crashes, it just won't be done automatically.
They've got a new JavaScript engine which is supposedly done from scratch which is meant to improve the performance of JavaScript based stuff by quite a noticeable margin and it's also meant to use less memory and it can be used with other browser if I read it right.
With regards to plugins, why wouldn't Google have had all the plugin makers do plugins for Chrome? If it can be done for Opera, why not for Chrome?
To me this sounds like really good news, as the stability of most browsers out there sucks, so I can't wait to get my hands on this and have a play.

Completely agree with The_Pope - I hope there's some way that they start to nag IE users through the Google toolbar to switch. Anything but IE, that's my attitiude!

Great news.. It's built using the best parts of the best open source browsers. Even if it's a complete failure, all the new and good technology in it can be cannibalised into Firefox. It probably will anyway.
Interesting what the firefox groups think of this though, they have a brand new super fast javascript engine for 3.1 so there's going to be a boat load of competition between these two.

Bring on the update, I want to try Chrome. Prob built to tie in with Android which sounds good, no doubt I will be getting a phone with that on it at some point as well.

Also I agree looks like a pokeball, or possibly the guyver unit.

The logo also looks like a more colourful version of one of GLaDOS' modules.

When I saw the announcement I thought this might finally be a browser with all the great features of the other browsers in the box to start with. Instead it seems to be a firefox clone.

I'll give it a try, but for me functionality matters more than the occasional crash.

With Google's quite frankly scary ability to get most things right I think Chrome will probably be a big hit.

Have downloaded it from http://www.google.com/chrome/eula.html

Chrome seems v fast, I like the most visited and quick bookmarks bar, I use the Opera browser at the moment because of its synchronisation so will keep trying chrome but don't think I would use it as my main browser untill it too had syncrhronisation.

OMG have just looked at the option 'inspect element' on right mouse click menu!!!! It is fantastic. Have viewed my own site and examined the layout, 'inspect element' like feature will I am sure be included in all web wysiwyg development tools. Print seems to just print, nothing special there (yet).

I love the 'stats for nerds' bit. This is the most excited I have got about a piece of software that wasn't a video game!
Opera is my main browser at the moment and Chrome does seem noticeably quicker but no less of a resource hog when it comes to flash. Still for a first release v impressive.

anyone think that a mobile version of this will make it into android?

the logo looks like the balls used to catch pokemons

seems a bit faster at loading pages etc than firefox...definitely much better than IE!!

Much better then the first beta of Safari certainly. I suppose having an index of over a billion pages to test it on helps in that regard :) It'll be interesting to see how long it stays in beta too - hopefully not as long as Gmail did. Plus I'm noticing that Chrome seems to access my HD a lot more then Firefox. Don't know whether this is just my machine though. Overall though, I like it a lot for a first beta.