Why is Google Releasing a Browser?
Updated Analysis: Google, in a blog post on its web site has acknowledged the existence of Google Chrome, a browser that the company will be releasing tomorrow. Kara Swisher has confirmed the existence of Google Chrome, a browser developed by the Mountain View, Calif.-based search company. The rumors of the browser were reported earlier on Google Blogoscoped, which received a comic book that outlined the key features of the browser.
- It is based on Webkit and will include Google Gears.
- It has a browser extensions framework that will allow it to make Adobe AIR-type hybrid apps.
- It includes Javascript Virtual Machine called V8 that was developed by a team in Denmark. It accelerates the Javascript performance and is multi-threaded.
- It has tabs, auto-completion, and a dashboard-type start page that can help you get going to the web services you need. Opera has such a dashboard.
- It has a privacy mode that allows you to use the machine without logging anything on the local machine. It might be similar to a feature called Incognito in the latest version of Microsoft IE.
- Malware and phishing protection would be built into the browser.
The company released:
So why are we launching Google Chrome? Because we believe we can add value for users and, at the same time, help drive innovation on the web. All of us at Google spend much of our time working inside a browser. We search, chat, email and collaborate in a browser. And in our spare time, we shop, bank, read news and keep in touch with friends — all using a browser. Because we spend so much time online, we began seriously thinking about what kind of browser could exist if we started from scratch and built on the best elements out there.
We realized that the web had evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications and that we needed to completely rethink the browser. What we really needed was not just a browser, but also a modern platform for web pages and applications, and that’s what we set out to build. On the surface, we designed a browser window that is streamlined and simple. To most people, it isn’t the browser that matters. It’s only a tool to run the important stuff — the pages, sites and applications that make up the web. Like the classic Google homepage, Google Chrome is clean and fast. It gets out of your way and gets you where you want to go.
Google says the browser is going to be in open source.
We owe a great debt to many open source projects, and we’re committed to continuing on their path. We’ve used components from Apple’s WebKit and Mozilla’s Firefox, among others — and in that spirit, we are making all of our code open source as well. We hope to collaborate with the entire community to help drive the web forward.
The new browser is going to be released in beta for Windows first, and there will be Mac and Linux versions at a later stage. A source tells me this initiative prompted Apple to release Safari For Windows as a beta last year.
The question is: Why a browser? What does Google get from releasing a browser? There are going to be many theories around the Google Browser — that it is a direct challenge to Microsoft’s IE Browser, for example — but I think it might be more than just the desktop. Why? Because even today, despite strong competition from Mozilla’s Firefox, Microsoft controls about 75 percent of the desktop browser market. In other words, given Microsoft’s control of the desktop, it is hard to dislodge it on the desktop.
However, it is vulnerable on mobiles, where IE Mobile has a non-existent market share. Like Mozilla, Microsoft is playing catch-up with Webkit, the core rendering engine for Nokia S60 phones, Apple’s iPhone Safari and Google Android devices. Even a Windows Mobile version is in the works. (Read my Webkit report.) By developing a browser that offers a seamless experience on both mobile and desktop devices, Google can carve out a nice chunk of the browser market for itself. The big opportunity could be especially the emerging class of mobile devices like the Netbooks.
Most of the features mentioned in the comic book and Google’s blog post indicate that features such as faster JavaScript VM, better memory management, better Windows UI rendering, faster text layout and rendering and intelligent page navigation are all features that make absolute sense in a mobile browser. I wouldn’t be surprised that that many of these features end up back in the Android browser.
In recent months, there have been rumors that Android is going to work on more than just mobile phones. Given the light-weight footprint of these devices and Google Chrome’s focus on “web applications” it would make perfect sense for Google to chase this opportunity.
Mathew Ingram points out, “Google clearly sees the browser as a form of operating system — just as I think the Mozilla group.” I agree, and also I agree with John Furrier’s contention that browser-as-OS war is only beginning. What are your thoughts about this development?
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
Wow. Content + means of distribution. When is the Justice Department going to catch up with these guys?
Does the world need yet another Web browser? Why not just collaborate with Mozilla on Firefox? Webkit + Firefox + Chrome stand a better chance together rather than apart don’t they? Feels to me like the million Linux distros and their corresponding desktops. If they could all get together, users would be better off.
great news for consumers
Quite possibly bad news for developers. Another browser to test/tweak against your web application to make sure the web app works.
Hmmm…. Usage data from Web logs/Analytics/Doubleclick + browsing data from google chrome = Comprehensive User data on browsing habits. What’s next?
screw this.. I’m going back to LYNX.. I don’t need no stinking javascripts and tabs.
Good work, Google! Watch out for flying chairs.
Make it possible for add-ons to enhance cloud apps. Compatibility with FF and Safari.
It’s been so weird to watch TechMeme today… between the iPhone and this, it’s like the browser wars have started all over again. And yet they’re so different from last time around, since most of the browsers are working to follow accepted web standards. The next few months/years will be fun to watch…
@Hardeep: Not really – since WebKit is the core rendering engine, it will likely render very similar to Safari.
@sri: That was one of my first thoughts, but the browser is open source, so everyone will know if Google is harvesting data and how much. It’s still a possibility, but we’ll just have to see.
Somewhat suggestive that Google is increasingly tilting towards Apple’s strategy of building proprietary functionality that is deeply integrated to deliver superior end-to-end user experience (integration is independent of decision to open source). Traditionally, Google has built a bunch of functional silos that are only loosely coupled, pursuing ubiquity over optimized experience.
The question is whether Google has the chops to build a superior application experience across a development lifecycle, as this takes tremendous coordination/orchestration. If it looks like Google Maps they will be in great shape. If, instead, it looks like more like Gmail, it’s not gonna tip the needle.
The smartest bet would be getting religion and ensuring that there is a common API set across all Google apps and services so that minimally, Google-ware runs best on their browser. That is how Microsoft became Microsoft after all, a strategy that Apple has followed, and improved upon by integrating not only OS and software, but hardware and service layers as well.
Mark
This is much worse for Mozilla and its $100M/year subsidy than it is for Microsoft. Neither GOOG nor MSFT depend on the browser itself for profits. No matter what IE’s browser share is, I doubt Microsoft makes much money from it (since the only real monetization opportunity is via traffic to the MSN start page as the default home page, or a Mozilla-like deal with Google).
This is a big thumb in the eye to Mozilla, though, whose browser is directly subsidized by Google (in effect) and whose browser is apparently not up to Google’s standards to the point that they’d go write their own.