First impressions of Google Chrome beta

September 02, 2008 by Matt Braun

Categories: Google Chrome RIA Web Apps WebKit

I’ve just installed the brand-spanking-new Google Chrome beta (previous post), and I must say, I like the way the UI feels and works. The interface really allows you to focus on the site or webapp you’re using. Google pays homage to browsers like Safari, Opera, and Firefox in their introductory comic (http://books.google.com/books?id=8UsqHohwwVYC&printsec=frontcover), but my initial impression is that Google has done an incredible job of adapting and improving other’s implementations.

Now for some screenshots for those who’ve not yet installed it. The “Stats for nerds” link in the memory usage dialog box made me chuckle a little (third screen below). And notice that in the memory usage screen, Chrome shows memory utilization for other browsers (Firefox 3 is listed in the fourth screen below).

Chrome has insanely fast JavaScript execution via the V8 engine created by Google Denmark. See the Dromaeo results for Chrome (381.20ms - http://dromaeo.com/?id=30827) versus Dromaeo results for Firefox (1338.60ms - http://dromaeo.com/?id=30827) and Safari (1399.60ms - http://dromaeo.com/?id=30842). Of note there is that I have Chrome running in a virtual machine, VMWare Fusion, which means it could be even faster when running natively on the Mac.

While I haven’t necessarily put Chrome through its paces, I have gotten it to Sad Tab once so far - and it was while using Google Analytics. Maybe their test driven development process (mentioned in the comic) should have stuck closer to home awhile longer.

Chrome also seems to have trouble vetting its own Adsense site’s SSL certificate, but that’s probably related to my not having placed the www in the URL.

In all I’ve found Google Chrome to be an excellent browser thus far - it’s fast and stable, and integrated Google Gears is going to mean a much higher rate of adoption by developers. Time will tell if this is truly an early phase of the Google OS, but as web browsers go, Chrome is top-notch.

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Comments

I installed Chrome on my laptop last night and took it for a spin. It imported all of my Firefox settings, right down to my stored quick searches and browsing history. I like the interface a lot - it’s clean and mostly behaves just like you’d expect it to. Google has clearly gone to a lot of trouble to accommodate the idiosyncrasies of Firefox users.

I did run into a couple of stability issues. Trying to open PDFs in Chrome caused the browser to lock - badly. The CPU was pegged so high that I couldn’t get Chrome’s internal task manager to come up, and killing the process from within Windows Task Manager shut down the entire browser, not just the offending tab. Loading YouTube videos also caused the browser to hang for ~5 seconds.

I think Google’s onto something good here, and although Chrome probably won’t replace Firefox for me right away, once the bugs are shaken out it will be a fine browser.

By Dave on September 03, 2008

Update after a few more days of using Chrome:

I love the interface. When I open up Firefox now, it’s appalling how much real estate is taken up by browser chrome and toolbars. That said, I really want a pulldown somewhere for my frequently-used links. Opening up a new tab and waiting for speed dial to load doesn’t cut it for me. I also miss some of my plugins, like my Del.icio.us poster. Google’s said that plugins are in the future for Chrome, so there is hope.

My number one gripe continues to be the unbearable slowness of Flash. Just mousing over a few examples on a Flash developer’s blog tonight caused the tab to lock for 10-15 seconds at a time.

I like where Google’s going here, but I’m switching back to Firefox until the next round of Chrome updates is complete.

By Dave on September 05, 2008

I installed and tested Chrome when it first came out. Very nice slick interface. I didn’t notice it run any faster than current browsers. I love the Multi-processor feature. I hear that is a feature in IE8 though. I’m not ready to give up my delicious plug-in though. Not quite ready to take over for my browser.

By Mark Chandler on September 12, 2008