Chrome : Will Google's New Browser Be Able to Compete with IE?

Exciting times for Internet users. Tomorrow, Google finally releases its long awaited web browser, Chrome. Will it be worth the wait? No idea yet, but I'll definitely check it out.

When Google does something, they do it right. They might not be reinventing the wheel, but they copy the best parts from all existing wheels and put them together to make the best possible wheel. What I like about Google is that they don't even try to hide the fact that they're 'borrowing' ideas from others. In a 38 page comic book, they explain what is new and why you should use their browser. The book also presents the main team members who worked on the project for the last few years to present the ultimate browser that should be able to compete with IE for the number one spot. They might not openly admit that this is in fact their goal, but anyone who's been following Google knows they only have one thing on their mind: winning. Especially when the competition is none other than Microsoft itself. Obviously it's too early to tell whether that aim is realistic, since the browser has not been released yet. It doesn't take a genius, though, to see that competing with a company that currently dominates the browser market with an incredible 75% will always be a tough fight.

Firefox and Opera are trying hard to find their niche on the browser market, but they're not really in the same league. If anyone can pull it off, it has to be Google. They've proved over and over again that they know how to play this game. And frankly, I'm a big fan. The arrogance after releasing GMail (only sending out invitations to the lucky few that were allowed to use their web-based e-mail), purchasing YouTube for almost 2 billion USD, the ever changing Google logo on their homepage, every action is proof of their view of the virtual world we like to call the Internet and I like them for the sheer effort of making things a bit more exciting. After all, if you can't trust a company that gave us Google Earth, who can you trust...

So where could it go wrong? There's a few risks involved. Arrogance is good, but if you don't deliver the goods, the fall will be even harder. Expectations will be high, and how refreshing can you make a browser to start with? The majority of Internet users just want their browser to show the pages correctly as fast as possible without crashing every other minute. Everything else is merely a bonus.

So what will it be, gold or back to the drawing board for Google. Only time will tell. And luckily for us, that time is now.

P.S. As I'm writing this, Chrome is installing, so a full review will follow soon.