Google Chrome, an Internet browser developed by Google, Inc., is one of the latest additions to the competitive Internet browsing market. For years, the Internet browser software genre has been dominated by Microsoft with its flagship, Internet Explorer. However, since 2000, more free Internet browsers have appeared on the market, challenging Microsoft’s dominance.
Internet users have additional browsing tools with Google Chrome.
Google Chrome takes a minimalist approach to browsing the Internet. The browser is very simple in appearance, but it is intentional. According to the browser’s website, “Like the classic Google home page, Google Chrome is clean and fast. He gets out of your way and takes you wherever you want.”
However, Chrome is among the first to offer a number of different features. For example, while tabbed browsing has been added to almost every browser, Chrome goes one step further. Instead of just opening a blank page, the browser opens a page with thumbnail images of the user’s most visited websites. This allows the user to quickly navigate to the desired pages.
While Chrome’s design may be somewhat simplistic, the company believes the overall product is on the cutting edge of technology. For example, if a website causes a conflict within a browser, the browser often crashes and the entire browsing session needs to be restarted. Google Chrome allows only one tab to freeze while the other tabs continue to function normally.
When designing Chrome, the designers borrowed from other open source software for a number of ideas. In particular, they credit Apple’s WebKit and Mozilla’s Firefox. One of these features is seen in the URL bar, which serves both the traditional function of a search bar. Firefox has an intuitive search bar where users don’t have to type, for example, “www.google.com”, they can simply type “google” and the corresponding web page appears.
To compete with Internet Explorer, web browsers must continually offer a list of new features that set them apart. Speed and responsiveness are often seen as a big issue by Google Chrome and others, pointing directly to one of Internet Explorer’s biggest points of criticism. Stability is another key that is often mentioned by some competing browsers.
Also, as with most browsers really interested in competing for market share with Internet Explorer, the software is free to download and use. This is almost mandatory in any Internet browser, simply because Internet Explorer is always included in the Windows operating system. Therefore, there is very little incentive for users to purchase a different product. In many cases, standalone products have enough sales simply by getting users to download the free product.
