Google Chrome breaks out of beta

Google's browser, Chrome, is officially leaving beta today.

Yesterday at the Le Web 08 conference in Paris, Google VP Marissa Mayer told TechCrunch's Mike Arrington that the move would be happening, but she did not say when. Google representatives have confirmed the Thursday change of status for Chrome.

How to get it
The first people to get the non-beta version will be new users who download the browser directly from Google. Also Thursday, a small proportion of existing Chrome users will automatically get the update. On Friday, all the remaining Chrome users (10 million, according to Google) will get the download. (You can also download it from CNET here.)

If you want to know whether you have the update, check Chrome's About page. If you don't have the current version, you can force the update from the dialog box. Normally, Chrome checks for updates every fifth hour of use.

The update system has been used for 14 updates of the beta product so far. This 15th update will be the first non-beta release.

Chrome's privacy options are now in one place.

What's included
Sundar Pichai, vice president of product development, told me that this release of Chrome will have "tons and tons of bug fixes," especially around audio and video playback, which should now be "more stable." Chrome will also be faster. Pichai said Google's browser is 1.4 to 1.5 times faster (depending on which benchmarks you use) than it was at launch.

There are new features, as well. The bookmark manager is being revised to do a better job for people who have lots of bookmarks, and for those who want to import or export bookmark lists. Privacy options have all been consolidated into one dialog box. And there are improvements in the security features of the browser.

Features that the team is still working on include autofill for forms, native support for RSS feeds, "and so on." But the top three features that Pichai says he and his team are working on are extension support and Mac and Linux versions.

"All the developement is in the open," Pichai said. Curious users can monitor Chrome's progress at Chromium.org, or download the Google Chrome Channel Chooser, which will tell their installation of Chrome to download either the betas between major updates of Chrome, or even the nightly (and often buggy) builds of the browser as it is developed. Pichai recommends that last option for those dying of curiosity about Chrome's upcoming extension support.

What's in a Google beta?
For a Google product, Chrome is leaving beta very quickly -- 100 days after public launch. Pichai said that Chrome now meets Google's "internal standards for stability and performance" and that its heavy use inside Google before its public release has contributed to its rapid graduation to released product status.

But clearly there's more at play here than that. For comparison's sake, only recently did Google remove the beta tag from Picasa, and it was years old and in its third major version. Gmail is still in beta, despite being relied on by tens of millions of users.

Google has big plans and goals for Chrome. Truly widespread adoption of the product won't happen in businesses or on the pre-installed software suites of new computers until the product is not just known to be stable by users but vouched for as production-ready by Google -- and that means taking it out of beta, even if the word itself means less than it used to.

Rate Google Chrome on Download.com.

[ducttape36]

i didnt care for the beta, but ill probably download it again to see if it leaves a better impression on me now.

[jim.ketcham]

i agree. i wasn't all that happy with the first beta. But i will give this one a download as well and check it out.

[Edifier_ComputerFan]

I already tried Chrome for a certain time. The customization of it is really poor. And this made me feel frustrated since the advanced settings in Firefox, Opera, Maxthon, and TheWord are not available. Those include mouse gesture, advanced tax browsing, and many other famous addons and plugins.

After all, Chrome is just a basic browser. And it is just another option. I do not think it is competent for advanced using.

Hope Chrome can develop in the Firefox way, and add advanced functions later.

[Imalittleteapot]

Edifier_ComputerFan: But that's exactly why I like Chrome. Because it doesn't have a whole bunch of crap. FF already has all the crap in the world. Why don't people that just want a bunch of crap use Firefox. Why does all the crap in the world have to be added to Chrome just because some Firefox user wants them added that probably wouldn't use Chrome even if it had those features?

If they're just going to bloat it up and make it exactly like all the other browsers then why even bother?

[Mr. Dee]

I just downloaded the final 1.0, it still sucks. Back to Firefox 3.04 and IE 8 Beta 2.

[Dauplat]

I got a BSOD trying to install the beta on a fully-patched XP SP3 system. Maybe I'll try it again. Not that I need ANOTHER browser...

[youngjm]

Chrome beat gmail out of beta.

[xtareq]

when it will be ready for MAC?

[shinelikeitdoes]

whenever MAC installs it on his pc i guess.

[iamrexmantooth2]

that's what i'd like to know

[ddesy]

Do you mean Mac?

[mavink]

I expect a beta to be released in the coming months; in the meantime, you can follow the progress at http://sites.google.com/a/chromium.org/dev/developers/how-tos/mac-detailed-status or download current Mac builds at http://securityandthe.net/chrome/

[smilin:)]

I'm waiting a bit to make this any sort of fulltime browser. I'm not blown away by their security practices.

[Edifier_ComputerFan]

Well, it still needs time to be a fulltime browser. And it is immature now.

[tm_anon]

if you really want a browser based off of the Chromium core for some reason, why not try SRware Iron? It's built off a newer version of the same core, has lots of the same features, but it doesn't report to the mother ship everytime you hit a new key and it already supports adblock. You may ask yourself, why hasn't CNET done an article on a browser using the same core as Chrome that already does some of the things current users of Chrome have asked for? The answer, SRware Iron isn't built by Google.

[smokinmunky]

I don't like that it spies on me. I think I'll stick to firefox.

[Edifier_ComputerFan]

Bingo! I have the same idea.

Although I am a Google fan, I disagree with Google's way of collecting user data. I do not want them to spying on me. And Firefox is my primary browser.

[SlyCooper]

Agreed.

[nabiy]

you can download Chromium, the open source version of Chrome, which doesn't spy on you from http://free-chrome.net

[iamrexmantooth2]

just got the latest version!

[whizkid454]

Scrolling STILL does not work properly. This has been a problem since the beginning....

[iamrexmantooth2]

how does it not work right?

[StuXU]

It scrolls perfectly fine. I am scrolling up an down this page like a champ.

[whizkid454]

For me, all it does is scroll to the top and bottom of the page, nothing in between. I have been beta testing since the first day and it has always had this issue. All drivers/software is up to date for the MS Wireless Mouse. The mouse works fine on every other program except Chrome.

[ddesy]

No problems on any version here thus far.

[JwL3394]

i had that same problem, but i downloaded an (unofficial) patch for it, and now it works fine.

here's the link
http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/pjt2v07/chrome/

[vamman]

Won't be important for the village idiots but anyone with confidential secrets worth being confidential should stay away! Its amazing how Google can get away with this. I wonder when the first virus will hit that will allow hackers to record everything you do on Chrome (don't think that Google's wire back web service can't be tapped).

[myrddin_1975]

I've downloaded and then removed Chrome twice now. There are a few business-critical sites that I use which don't "play nice" with Chrome. Both problem sites are probably related to javascript issues -- I don't know for sure. With one site, I can't print from pop-up print windows, and on another site the navbar doesn't work at all. Both sites work find in IE and Firefox. The problem is probably not with Google Chrome, but with site developers. But finger pointing isn't of any use, since I still need to access these websites. I'll continue to "check back in" with Chrome from time to time, as I love its speed and sleek design.

[bdaughtry]

So, like everything else on the web, be smart about how you use it. It is soooo much faster than IE and Firefox, I made it my default browser a couple weeks ago. Yes, it has some quirks, but so do the other browsers. For me, it's all about the speed.

Now, how about that Adblock Plus add-on!

[tm_anon]

How about checking SRware Iron if you want Adblock. Google won't put it in because they make money off of ads. Oh, and fyi, you know all that info being sent back to Google that it says will only be used internally, but nobody really knows for sure? SRware Iron doesn't do that at all. It's also built off of a newer version of the same core.

[viatorci]

For those of you with privacy concerns check out SRware Iron. It's Google Chrome with all the Google stripped out.

http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron_news.php

[jinx101a]

For this browsers market share it sure gets an disproportional amount of coverage. This is just another browser for developers to have to try to tailor to.

[mrsteveman1]

Or if they stick to standards as webkit seems to do, developers won't have to worry about it anymore.

IE caused this problem for developers, and it is being rapidly pushed out of the spotlight with all this competition, and if google gets some OEM deals, IE won't even have its status as the default to back it up.

[drmeths]

That's not really true for two reasons:

1) It uses WebKit for its rendering. That means that it should exhibit the same render behaviour as Safari. If you're already checking for Safari render then chances are you will have no trouble at all

2) It is the most innovative browser available today, hence the coverage. Its speed is unparalleled and for heavy users whilst Firefox may be more flexible for actual basic browsing Chrome allows me to get my work done quicker. I use the right tool for the job, so Firefox still comes out for writing webapps as the toolset is much better.

[tm_anon]

@drmeths

If you really think Chrome is getting coverage because it's so innovative, then you're already brainwashed. I use Flock. It doesn't render single webpages faster than any other browser because it doesn't have to. It connects to everything at once, always. It connects to my RSS feeds, my web 2.0 apps, my blog, my email. I can post directly to a blog I've set up from any page I happen to be looking at, I can post photos to any of my web 2.0 sites. I have a web clipboard so I can pull photos direct from the page via drag and drop. I have direct access to any and all tools that make web life that much easier which cannot be found in any other browser and it includes all the tools already native to FF. Chrome isn't the most innovate browser available today, it's the most stripped down browser available today. It's also not the fastest browser, FF 3.1 is in every respect save rendering Googles own alternative to Flash. There was an article posted on CNET 2 weeks ago stating this very fact. Chrome has all this press because it is Google and only because it is Google. If you don't believe me, check out SRware Iron, it's built off a newer version of the Chromium core, takes away the Google phone home mentality and provides a better version of the same browser, including Adblock.

[AppleSuxLeo]

What is a Mac or a Linux ? Sound like a burger and some type of animal ?
It`s good to be king. Works great on Windows.

[tm_anon]

FF 3.1 at last benchmark was faster than Google Chrome in all respects save Googles own alternative to Flash. In addition, Adblock Plus has been developed for FF and most likely will be developed as a new addition for FF 3.1 . If you want an alternative to the 2nd biggest browser, even with the proven stability of FF, check out SRware Iron at the site I will post at the end of this. It removes the privacy issues and already integrates Adblock Plus. It also is built of the newest version of the Chromium core and I'm betting most Chrome users don't realize that they can't say the same about their own browser. I currently use Flock and have found that single page rendering speeds mean nothing if all your browser does is renders a single page quickly. However, for those of you who insist on doing things slowly with the guise of speed, check out FF beta 3.1 or check out SRware Iron as both are a better alternative than Google Chrome. Ask yourselves one question and you'll see how rediculous these articles on CNET are. If Chrome weren't made by Google, would you know about it?
http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-beta.html

[T543212345]

Man, a number of people point out that FF is faster than Chrome on benchmarks, but does this include startup? Maybe it's just my ancient laptop, but Chrome STARTS so much faster than FF3 (which is so SLOW to load...at least on my computer...). For me, it was a hands-down winner. Has anyone else had the same experience?

[tm_anon]

if all I plan on doing is starting and stopping my browser, I'll make sure to get Chrome. Otherwise, I'll stick with what I'm using now.

[MadKiwi]

I will not use Chrome while it fails to provide an application password to protect the viewing of saved passwords. As it stands, anyone who has access to your PC can view all the usernames/passwords that Chrome has saved. In a corporate Windows environment that has an Intranet requiring authentication based on Windows login Chrome will expose the user's Windows login credentials. Similarly with ISA proxy authentication for web access.

Firefox gets around this by giving the option to password protect running Firefox.

[k4zn41]

While Chrome is very fast, sleek, and convenient it still hasn't won me over yet. I spend most of my life on the internet, and I do use chrome for a small portion of that. I'm still a Firefox man though. Show me some good add-ons and I may switch.

[Imalittleteapot]

If Chrome gets bloated with all that crap I'll stop using it. FF already has what you need. Why get Chrome all bloated up for you when a. You already have a browser that does what you need and b. I like the fact that Chrome doesn't have a whole bunch of crap. This way we can both be happy. If they bloat it up to look just like FF then why wouldn't I just use FF?

[jaxstephens]

After reading this story, I downloaded the new version and went to a few sites. As I determined when I first tried Chrome on initial release, Chrome is a shell of a browser. It lacks critical features that all of the big boys have. Worse, though, the sites I tested it with today fare worse than they do in Internet Explorer of all things. I tried my Netflix account only to find pretty much all of that website's handy Web 2.0 features (drag and drop, movie info pop up, etc.) were not functioning. Nice try, Google. Chrome was released too early. There are mobile phone browsers with more features.

[sukhijatt]

i havent downloaded the complete version yet but in beta i notioved taht u cant email reply in hotmail .. can you do that in this full version release..?

[pcittech]

it is extremely fast actually. better then IE for now, but some applications cannot be open with Chrome. hope they're gonna work on it.

[tm_anon]

Anybody reading this comment. Look at the format. It's the most used format when speaking about Chrome. It is extremely fast, but.......

[AshevilleLocal]

There is a FREE version of the Chrome Code by a german company. but without googleupdater, with ad-blocking, and without a number of privacy invading settings:

It is called:
SRWare Iron
http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php