I’m sure most of you have already heard or read about it, as it’s been in the news constantly this past week. Google Chrome is the latest entry in the browser arena, and one that’s chosen a different approach to the game. Creators of the first browser probably never imagined the Web would evolve into what it is today, or that their creation would eventually be tasked to run web applications. Chrome is optimized exactly for that, so you could say that it’s a browser tailor-fit for Web 2.0. I’ve been using it almost exclusively since it was first released, and so far these are my thoughts on Chrome.

The design, typical of Google, is certainly clean and easy on the eyes. There’s a single text box to type in search phrases or URLs, and no toolbars or extraneous icons to clutter the user interface. My screen actually feels a little bigger when I’m using it.

In terms of speed, there have been various tests done to compare its performance with Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer. They all basically confirm that Chrome is lightning fast, especially with JavaScript, thanks to its V8 engine. You can really feel it during actual usage.

Chrome uses one process per tab, such that if one gets unstable, only that tab will need to close, not the whole window. This is important for me since I’ve been using web apps for work more and more. So far, I’m really impressed with Chrome’s stability. It has never frozen or closed on me.

While some people don’t see the point of having another browser out there, anything that injects new life into technology is fine by me. Google Chrome’s mere presence in the field spurs tougher competition, which means faster evolution and better innovations. Now, the only problem left is how to convince non-techies to switch from IE. That one, not quite so easy.

Not all is rosy, however, as I’ve encountered some bugs along the way. Particularly annoying was when I tried to play embedded videos and nothing would happen (it was fine in Firefox). It worked OK the next day, though, and that’s probably because of Chrome automatic update feature. I also have an issue with some parts of Google Docs not showing up, and that’s yet to be resolved.

Another bug was when I wrote a post on WordPress and after saving, it all bunched up into one long paragraph. I thought it was a WP issue, but apparently it’s with Chrome. The full list of bugs can be found here, and remember, Chrome is only in its beta version.

In all, despite a few kinks, I’m happy with Google Chrome. I don’t think it will replace Firefox as my main browser yet, though, and that’s primarily due to the lack of plugin options. This may well change soon, and it’s something I’ll definitely be looking forward to.

Have you tried Google Chrome? How was your experience with it?