It’s only been a few weeks since Google unleashed Chrome but the buzz seems to have pretty much evaporated.
There are probably happy Chrome users but given the excitement about its debut, the Web’s newest browser (the one that was going to reignite the browser wars) appears to have fallen flat. You don’t hear people raving about Chrome or blog extolling its virtues.
Is Chrome a dud?
Well, you could argue Chrome is under-whelming. Without many bells and whistles, Chrome is like being asked to drive a Chevy Cavalier as opposed to a fully-loaded BMW. Other than the novelty factor, there are few reasons to embrace Chrome right now.
Of course, it would be unwise to dismiss Chrome as another Froogle (aka Google Product Seach). With Chrome, Google has dipped its toe in the waters. Over the next little while, you can expect Google to beef up Chrome with more features/add-ons and integrated with other services such as GMail and Blogger.
Until then, the majority of Web users will probably stick with IE and Firefox. But Chrome strikes me as a fox lurking in the bushes, waiting for the right time to pounce. For now, it’s not dangerous but wait until it gets a little more hungry.
More: Ars Technica has a story asking whether Google reverse-engineered Windows with Chrome. ComputerWorld has a story that suggests Chrome’s share of the browser market has declined to 0.77% as user migrate back to Firefox and IE. The data comes from Net Applications, which tracks 40,000 sites.
19 Comments
Interestingly, the only ones calling for chrome to be the instigator for a new round of browser wars have been … bloggers.
> Other than the novelty factor, there are few reasons to embrace Chrome right now.
Yup. And anyone not trying to make a name in the InternetFamousO’Sphere weren’t expecting anything else.
You’re right that bloggers tend to get excited about shiny, new things more than other people…until the next shiny, new thing comes along.
It will be interesting to see whether Chrome gains more traction as Google enhances its feature-set.
Mark
I wouldn’t look at blogging I would look at usage. I know lots of folks who switched to Chrome as their default browser (including myself).
Let’s see the stats in a month.
How can a version 0.2 of any software product be called “falling flat”? Let’s compare Chrome 0.2 with IE 0.2 … on second thought, let’s not.
Evaporated buzz? For a browser. Go figure. Chrome is fantastic. I find it to be faster and MUCH more stable than IE or Firefox, which I’ll take a browser the works and works quickly over a browser loaded with useless plug-ins any day of the week.
I seem to recall a lot of negativity around Gmail when it first launched and how boring and uninspiring it was. I don’t know anyone who is NOT on gmail.
For me, 2 things are holding Chrome back from being a great browser:
* Native Mac and Linux ports
* An official API for browser extensions
Those things will come in time, but until then, Firefox gets my business.
Hype is hype. It’s interesting on some level to see what gets people excited, but the reality is blog hype dies pretty quickly as people move onto the next big thing. It’s not a useful barometer for how successful a product or service is.
If blog hype were dollars facebook would be the biggest company in the world. The reality is they’re still casting about trying to figure out how they’re going to make money.
The reality is, Chrome is less than a month old and is nipping at Opera’s heels in terms of market share (at least at my site.)
http://www.drunkenfist.com/304/2008/09/16/google-chrome-so-far-173-market-share/
Last night I was browsing the Technorati top 100 bloggers and found this for example: http://www.roytanck.com/2008/09/12/one-week-of-chrome/#more-479 . Roy switched to Chrome after taking it for a test drive for a week. I think there are lots of people doing that.
Matt,
Thanks for the link.
As soon as Google launches a Mac version of Chrome, I’ll be sure to check it out. I’ve used Flock as a second work-only browser but it has too many bells and whistles for what I need so maybe Chrome will fit the bill better.
Mark
I hear you. Chrome is pretty much the only thing keeping me from trying out a non-Windows machine next.
I suppose that there is not so much talking as there was at launch, but I think there are still a lot of people buzzing around it (check twitter).
I have switched to Chrome for most of my web surfing (this comment comes from Chrome).
Sure it has its problems, but it is still a baby. I like the fact that within two updates of the browser the biggest problem that i was facing is fixed – problems with flash videos.
I think that the browser wars are on (at least for now).
I put together some of the good and bad on Chrome – http://blog.gadodia.net/google-chrome-pros-and-cons/
Vaibhav,
Hey, thanks for the insight and link.
Mark
You are welcome of course
Like many others I installed Chrome to give it a try. The speed of this browser made me stay – I absolutely love it. The only downfall is the lack of extensions and that will change in due time, as Google has already said.
The only “hype” I ever saw was from blogs and other press. Like most of their products, it mostly just appeared one day on Google’s portal (for me, anyway).
Maybe there are people out there that actually like a browser without all the crap tacked onto it. If I feel the need for extensions (which basically automate tasks I can still do myself, I’m not helpless), I can just as easily jump into Firefox.
Maybe you’re not seeing people extolling its virtues because you’re looking for the wrong thing. Simplicity, elegance, and speed are virtues, which Chrome has in spades. Just look at the comments here, for example.
I stand corrected
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9115341
I think it’s an incorrect analogy to compare the stripped down Chrome with a more featured BMW, unless that comparison is in the cockpit.
Keep in mind Chrome is blindingly fast. Maybe a better, yet difficult to get across, analogy would be comparing that same BMW to a crotch rocket… no frills, but white knuckled speed.
I’ve never used extensions on Firefox, mostly due to laziness with learning to do new things. Chrome does everything I need and I don’t see a reason to go back to FF.