Google Chrome 1.0 officially released
The time is here: Google Chrome is now officially released.
Why released now?
Yesterday, Google interestingly decided to officially release and remove it’s beta label from Google Chrome. Why this is especially intriguing is that it was released as a beta just this September, and is already a real release. That’s a pretty short testing period, and the reasons for this is either of these:
- It is actually ready for prime time.
- It still has some kinks and flaws, but Google deem it just that important to get it official and seriously start competing with other web browser vendors.
Other platforms, no support
It should be noted that Google Chrome is still only available for Windows. While I agree that it is the most important market, especially for converting/stealing any possible Internet Explorer user they can, I think it’s a bit of a let-down with still no Mac or Linux version. When it was in its beta state, I think it was cool, but now when 1.0 is released, it’s not that good.
Maybe this is just for the first version, but I’m afraid that this is an indication that versions for other platforms will always lag behind, conclusively making Google Chrome a less interesting option. To be a serious contender in the long run, it has to offer simultaneous releases for all platforms, and the same goes for possible extension models and plans.
Download Google Chrome
If you’re a Windows user, I definitely think you should give this version a go, and evaluate it. Download Google Chrome now, and let me know what you think!
The issue about a Windows only version isn’t just about Chrome. I can’t wait to run Picasa on a Mac, but they don’t have a Mac version for that either.
Yes it does feel rushed. Not having autocomplete for forms makes it feel beta to me.
I betcha it’s come out of beta because Dell and HP want to include it on their system installs, but they weren’t going to do that with it in beta. Trust me — it’s Google’s idea, probably, but it’ll be good for Dell and HP, too. Heard quite a bit of talk about that.
Just imagine how much fewer support calls they’ll have to receive without having to deal with IE’s virus-causing and malware-causnig problems.
If they manage to get OEMs to preinstall it as the default browser, they might have some luck conquering some of IE’s market.
For the enthusiasts to pimp it to their friends, it needs to mature, have more features and be available on more platforms.
But, it’s certainly a good start, and having another browser to try and reduce IE’s dominance is a few steps in the right direction.
Stef,
Yeah, true – other platforms than Windows doesn’t seem to have a high priority at Google (they do have the Picasa iPhoto plugin, though).
David,
Missed that one; personally, I couldn’t live without that in a web browser.
mdmadph,
Yes, I’ve read and heard those thoughts. And most likely, it will help from a business point of view. Just hope it happens on a larger scale.
Morgan,
Yes, most definitely.
Again, yes. 🙂
[…] It has some interesting features with separate processes and very fast rendering, and even though it was officially released in December, I think it still has a far way to go with extensibility, cross-platform support […]
[…] It has some interesting features with separate processes and very fast rendering, and even though it was officially released in December, I think it still has a far way to go with extensibility, cross-platform support […]