Google announces Chrome browser

Today Google announced that they’re releasing an open-source web browser.  Called Chrome, the browser will be launched in beta format (what else would we expect from Google) tomorrow.  Why is Google creating their own web browser?  In the blog posting their reason is that they “believe [they] can add value for users and, at the same time, help drive innovation on the web.”

The post continues and provides a broader context for Chrome:

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.

If you run Windows, you’re in luck.  You’ll be able to try out Google Chrome tomorrow. If you’re running OS X or Linux you’ll have to wait, those versions of the new web browser aren’t being released at this time (but are under development).  The Windows version should be available when Google switches on the Chrome web site at this URL: http://gears.google.com/chrome/?hl=en (it currently redirects to Google’s homepage).

There’s far more to Chrome than a new web browser coming to market to challenge Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and Safari.  Chrome will undoubtedly tie into several other Google initiatives with Open Social at the top of the list.  Chrome also creates a new venue for Google Gears applications, as the open-source local runtime will be built into the browser.

In addition to the blog posting Google also posted a link to a comic book on Google Chrome.  Feel free to craft a clever joke regarding the comic book angle and send it to me, my creativity is still enjoying Labor Day.

Read the entire Google Chrome Announcement.

If you’re interested in the current browser landscape, there’s a great article over on cnet news.