This week saw the release of Google Chrome, Google’s new feature-rich browser based on WebKit and Firefox components. It has been met with a mixed response and has also raised some interesting thoughts/issues/discussions…

See for example the outcry about the extreme licensing “liberties” that Google is taking in their terms and conditions for Chrome (incidentally the same terms and conditions for Google Docs)

Basically, whatever content you put through the browser, they own it.

Also see the “abandon Firefox” article. The guys who are trying chrome will be predominantly Firefox users (IE users are slower to change/experiment). So the “we are taking on Microsoft” sentiment does not really roll in this case. Interesting to see how Firefox responds.

I am not that excited about it for web:

• It uses the same WebKit based renderer as Safari (and an inferior version at that, read)
• It doesn’t have some vital features that other browsers have (e.g. ad blockers) in order to serve Google’s other business objective (e.g. “making money through ads”)
• It doesn’t (yet) work with a number of Google’s own products: techcrunch

• • They do admit that they are “far from done”

Firefox has the head start on the web browser market when competing with Microsoft and Chrome will have to do much to beat them now.

An interesting aside, people are also raising concerns that these browsers with richer capabilities may cause a “split in internets”: information week

The most exciting prospect around Chrome seems to be the mobile version. Chrome is mostly likely to become the de facto standard on Android and thus mobile browser

Of course, it is a Google product and so I am sure it will ultimately be successful

Let’s see how it pans out…