New Chrome beta reflects bigger Google challenge

Features that Google brought to its developer preview version of Chrome--themes, a revamped new-tab page, a tweaked Omnibox for searching and entering Web addresses, and support for HTML 5 video--have now arrived on the browser's better tested beta version intended for broader use.

Individually, these features in Chrome 3.0.195.4 (download) are niceties. Collectively, they show Google is steadily moving ahead with its browser project, which was ambitious even before Chrome OS arrived on the scene. Fighting for a piece of the browser market is tough, but offering an operating system solely for Web-based applications is a lot tougher.

Chrome themes, such as this one called Grass, are in the new Chrome beta.

(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

After some on-again, off-again wavering, I've gone back to Chrome as my default browser. I like its interface and a handful of features, but the main advantage is its priority on speed. Google's Chrome ambition is to improve the Web as a foundation for applications and more generally to get people to do more online, and speed is of the essence.

That's why the shiny new features such as Chrome themes actually are less interesting to me than some of the fine print in Google's announcement of the new beta:

Beyond the improvements in JavaScript execution in this latest beta, there are a host of other improvements that should help Google Chrome make the most of your network connection. For example, when you open a new Web page while other Web pages are still loading, Google Chrome is now smarter about prioritizing the requests for the new page--for instance, fetching text, images, and video for your new page--ahead of the requests from the older pages. Loading pages on this beta release should also be faster than ever with DNS caching, more efficient DOM bindings, and using V8 for proxy auto-config.

OK, so that gets deep in the weeds at the end there, but suffice it to say that Google is tackling browser speed in a number of areas, not just its V8 engine for executing Web programs written in JavaScript.

Google gets dinged with some justification for moving sluggishly with Chrome. The Mac OS X and Linux versions are only now beginning to come into their own, for example. But there's a subtext to that criticism that bears mentioning.

Specifically, it looks to me as if some perceptions are shifting from "Why should I bother with Chrome?" to "Google isn't moving fast enough with Chrome." That shows expectations are shifting in Google's favor. It positions the company better to win over converts through the gradual delivery of extensions and other high-demand features.

Of course, a lot of my feedback is from change-embracing early adopters who care, sometimes passionately, about browsers. Getting Chrome to appeal to mainstream folks will be another, harder challenge for Google.

[forever4now]

I use Firefox 3.5 on Ubuntu and I am REALLY happy with it, but I would still like to give Chrome a test drive. I've even considered dusting off & booting up my old Windows machine, to give it a whirl. I guess I'll have to continue to wait patiently, like other Mac & Linux users.

[dhtechs1]

You can try it today: http://ppa.launchpad.net/chromium-daily/ppa/ubuntu/

[Mr. Dee]

Wow, that theme is just 'fugly'!

[compbry15]

Yea that theme is terrible. I do use chrome as my main browser though, because despite upgrading to FF 3.5, chrome is still much faster. Starting up the browser itself is at least twice as fast as FF, if not more. Everything about Chrome is zippier. The only time I go into FF is for web development, when I need to use Firebug and other addons. Those addons are still vastly superior to the debugging tools innately available in Chrome.

[mavery81230]

Many people who complain about FF's speed compared to other browsers, especially with regards to startup speed, have lots of add-ons and extensions. It's amazing how much they slow things down. They are checked for currency and compatibility every time FF launches (or at least once a day). Many connect to the net to give you weather reports, to check a web site for what user tracking info it has, and on and on and on. Remove the fluff, and it'll speed up.

I think when Chrome is opened to developers and they start producing add-ons and extensions people will start being upset about Chrome's speed as well.

[Orengeman]

While I understand the desire for a speedier browser (the reason I end up using Chrome so often at home) I wish it could be done with some of the great plug-ins that I use in FF - ad-block, no script, etc.

[Orengeman]

Oh, yeah, I forgot to add... (a) the theme is disgusting, and (b) themes, really? why do you need themes?

[monkeyfun14]

Same question can be asked at car companies. Why do we need paint jobs just ship them with raw unpainted aluminum

[Shankland]

Some people like themes they way they like T-shirts. It says something about them--their favorite sports teams, their political causes, their worldview. I'm more utilitarian, but I can see the appeal. Also, I've been messing with the themes, and in my experience so far over the last week, it can help identify what software you're using, which can be useful when switching among lots of windows. The theme acts sort of a navigational beacon.

[jackdaniels08]

I've been using Google Chrome since the beginning because I love the Omnibox, I love the speed, and I love getting in on the innovation and novelty of technology that Google is offering as opposed to stagnant legacy that another certain browser offers. Google Chrome is my primary browser, Firefox is my backup browser.

[jackdaniels08]

Oh I forgot to mention, in Google Chrome I also love the new tab page with the most visited websites. Also about the omnibox, I love the fact that I can just type 1 or 2 letters and it knows exactly what I'ms searching for because it knows what I already like, for example I'll type 'tw' and it already knows I'm searching for Twitter, I'll push Enter key and I'm there!

[jessiethe3rd]

I use Chrome because I love to share all my day to day web usage with Google to allow private information to go to marketers... it's great!

[forever4now]

Yahoo and Microsoft also accumulate information about your searches (and last I read, retain the information longer than Google). It's about displaying relevant ads. It has nothing to do with you personally.

[funkylily]

I installed Chrome on all our home computers and now everyone in the family loves using it. It's just way faster when searching the net, or going through emails. Only problem I have is printing. It either comes out too small or not at all.

[macewan_]

Flash support - duh. Mac OS-X support duh. I'm impressed with Chrome so far - well, Chromium for use with Youtube. Chrome is fast as hell and overall feels solid, but light weight. I see huge potential at the expense of Safari 4. Microsoft IE is a joke so no comment on where it fits in.

Over the years Linux (since 1997 Debian GNU/Linux then Ubuntu) was my desktop system until I acquired a MacBook Air. Since then it's been OS X. I participated in Apple's Safari 4 developer testing. Safari 4 is great. Much smoother than Firefox on OS X. This changed recently with the very latest Firefox though. Chrome will steal hearts when Linux/OS X/Windows versions release at the same time with support for Flash use. Until then - it's a cute browser. Fun to use when ready through Google news.

[lindenbranch]

I've been using Flash with Chromium on Ubuntu for about a month now. You just have to open it with a command to enable plugins. I believe it even tells you how to do it on the chromium dev page. Only problem I had with it was all the flash based adds I was suddenly made aware of again after getting used to Adblock and NoScript with Firefox.

I now alternate back and forth between Firefox and Chromium depending on which websites I'm planning on visiting.

[SpiritWater]

When in Chrome do what the Chromiums do - wish Google would move faster on development of Chrome.

[C433Z]

all i can say is i love using it. the speed and UI are superior to all the others i think.

[FF2009]

the speed is OK, but it still has too many bugs, and lack of Firefox like extensions keeps me way.

[Andrew Denn]

I love Chrome! I was an avid Firefox user, until version 3. It seems like ever new update for Firefox, it runs slower and slower, while Chrome keeps getting faster. I hope they do get the OS X version out soon.

[docspike]

i tried out this new beta...its the same boring browser...and i dont think its faster than firefox or safari...

[hatmon]

I used to use Firefox most of the time because IE was like watching paint dry half the time and Safari just stopped working, like it was censoring certain websites, youtube in particular. However I found Firefox to be really unreliable, probably due to add ons. Chrome is the only browser that I have never found anything to complain about. It would be nice if it did a few extra things such as Firefox did but that is not really a complaint.

[KTxLibris]

The one single thing that makes Firefox stand out for me is Grease Monkey. I'm sure Chrome will have that one day, but the ability to customized frequented webpages is the only thing that matters.

[MacSnob]

Crome takes too long to resolve web server address and thus times out with its oops! page. It may take severl tries before I can go to where the link sends me. This is especially egretious on USAtoday. I have mentioned this to USAtoday but get an ambigious response. I can't bank on crome, its too querky.

[pirate1999]

Are you sure it isn't a confliction problem with your PC setup? I have no problems like that, and I don't see anyone else voicing a problem like that. I love Chrome and will download Beta.

[bmw750]

I use Windows 7 Ultimate and Chrome is The Business! I used to use Firefox but its so slow compared to Chrome! My kids love Firefox but when they used my average cheap pc with Chrome they couldn't believe how fast it was and said their top of the range Sony Vaio laptops were rubbish in comparison using Firefox to surf the net. Easily cured and now all 3 kids are avid Chrome users and they LOVE IT!! Even the wife switched to Chrome from Internet Explorer 8 and thought her internet connection must have increased to 50Mb from 10Mb!

[interoperate]

The Chromium developer version on Fedora Linux (thanks to Tom 'Spot' Callaway) is definitely faster than Firefox 3.5 for all the common tasks.

Flash videos are now playing quite reliably. The major pending issue on Linux is that printing is not yet supported.

The quality of Mozilla Firefox printing under Linux is so poor that I am hoping the Chromium developers can at least match Opera's excellent printing capabilities under Linux. Then goodbye Firefox. For too long you've dished up a Linux browser that is much inferior to the Windows version. I expect I'll be going elsewhere real soon.

[MeepMan]

You're forgetting the coffee issues: Java leaves an empty space where the applet should be. I looked up the error, though, and the error process seems to be done and a fix is ready. I checked the times and the whole thing was under an 8 hour fix.

[eli77057]

I'm still amazed that with all of the resident geniuses at Google, they still haven't figured out how to
1. Save a website with only one file instead of two files/folders. If Microsoft can, why can't Google?
2. How to easily send a webpage, without "copy-and-paste the URL" into Gmail - I guess the Chrome developers never thought of integrating Gmail

In spite of this, I do use Chrome. Anything is better than IE

[eli77057]

I have to uninstall Chrome 2.0 to install 3.0. Will I lose my bookmarks if I do that?