The much awaited web browser, Google Chrome, is now live. Yes! Google launched the beta version on September 2, 2008. Roll up your sleeves and jump right in!

Chrome is appealing because of the pleasant interface and reliable features. It is an open source browser based on the WebKit rendering engine. The user interface features New Tab for each new page, Omnibox to search, suggested URLs and effective pop up control and display. Google Chrome claims to be Secure, Fast and Stable. For security, it offers features like Backlists, Sandboxing and Plugins. To combat phishing and malware, it periodically maintains backlists of such sites and alerts the user trying to access them. It introduces sandbox for each opened tab to prevent malware from installing itself and to run Plugins separately. The JavaScript virtual machine, V8, makes it much faster and more robust. Last but not least, Google Chrome implements multiprocessing, which makes it a highly responsive and stable application.

Google has launched its web browser with the aim, “We want others to adopt ideas from us---Just as we’ve adopted good ideas from others.” In a well established market lead by giants like Firefox and Internet Explorer, will it be able to make a difference? Does Google Chrome offer something that IE and Firefox don’t? Let’s compare the newbie Google Chrome with IE and Firefox and figure out whether or not there is room for another browser.

Speed

Speed is the highlight of the Google Chrome browser and there is no doubt about it. Its “Multi-process Browsing” technique has made it simply robust. It is much faster in execution than Firefox, IE and Safari. You can open as many tabs as you want without compromising response time or loading speed. Its performance remains great even after opening 50+ tabs. It remains responsive and doesn’t crash. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has given a comparison of the speed of different browsers by running a test application. He writes in his post, Google Chrome is insanely fast … faster than Firefox 3.0:

Security

Security is another prominent feature of Google Chrome. Users are appreciative of these security features, such as privacy mode and alerts for phishing and malware sites. It is being said that security-wise, Chrome has an edge over Firefox and IE. It introduces Sandbox for each opened tab to prevent malware from installing itself and to run plugins separately. Dennis Fisher, in his review on Google Chrome, Google Chrome unlikely to attract security-minded users, evaluates Chrome’s security features as:

Browser for Rich Internet Applications

It is being said that Google Chrome is a browser for RIAs due to its unique features. Even Google personals say that rich, interactive applications are one of the main reasons for the launching of Google Chrome. “We’ve got much better memory management; we’ve got a new JavaScript engine. Some are calling it a Windows killer, and it’s easy to see why. It’s has operating system-like features and it’s built from the ground up to run very complex Ajax applications. In that sense, it’s very much a browser specifically for RIAs,” says Ryan Stewart in his post, Google Chrome: A browser for RIAs and a Firefox Killer. He adds,

With the launch of Google Chrome, Google has joined the race of becoming No.1 web browser. IE, Firefox, Chrome… who will be the winner? Currently, Internet Explorer (IE) holds the maximum share of the market (72%). Firefox has also established itself as a secure web browser and covering 19% share of the market. In this situation, will Chrome be able to snatch the market from IE through its features like speed, multiprocessing, efficient rendering engines and effective garbage collection? Will it be able to establish itself as a secure and safe web browser through its security features like Blacklists, Sandboxing and Plugins? It is the time to decide the position of Google Chrome in the web browser world.