Though very few new features have been added, those that have been integrated make all the difference!

As you all know, Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google with extremely fast loading time. Google have now unveiled a much more improved edition of their highly thought of web browser. The issue many of us had with Version 1 was that it seemed to lack some vital tools, such as a “full screen mode” in order to make the internet surfing  experience as best it can possibly be. However, with the introduction of Chrome 2.0, Google have integrated a few more features into the otherwise minimalistic browser.

New Features

Well, here are a handful of new features introduced:

• From the “new tabs” start page you are now able to delete individual thumbnails to your liking, by deciding on the thumbnails to have, and then clicking “done.” Previously you were not given a choice in removing thumbnails, as Chrome automatically chose the “most visited” sites as your thumbnail. Below, is an example of a customized thumbnail page displaying the “thumbnail page” format.

The disadvantage of this feature is that you are unable to arrange the thumbnails in your preferred order and if you delete one thumbnail, when only having four open, this will be deleted by default.

• Full-screen mode via F11 shortcut- Your screen turns completely into one window excluding all the tabs and bookmarks. Perfect for when watching or streaming videos off somewhere like BBC iplayer or Hulu. Then again, you hardly ever used to notice that Chrome was there anyway, because of the fact that vast majority of the screen space was devoted to the site you were visiting, Chrome has such a simple and streamlined design.

• Last but not least, Google have used their initiative and finally integrated an auto-fill feature requiring you not to remember passwords, for those who are forgetful among us! Thank god! Chrome needed this attribute, especially to get back in the hunt for #1 browser!

• In addition to the fresh features, Chrome has got even faster! Which definitely makes the web browser more useful and likeable. Google says that Chrome 2.0 loads JavaScript-heavy web pages 30% faster than older versions of the browser. This improvement is speed, makes it miles ahead of its competetitors, like Safari.

Our Opinion

Pros

• Many bugs have been fixed as well as the whole perfomance of Chrome.
• Super fast and stable, because of the multiprocess foundation- one slow site won’t drag down the rest of your browsing.
• Easy to use interface.

Cons

• No ad-blocking program making you unprotected straight away.
• Lack of add-ons and extentions, which Firefox seem to have every one.
• Potential for high memory usage given that each tab is its own process

Conclusion

If you are looking to simply surf the internet, then Chrome might be for you. It has a simple, minimilastic interface and very fast loading times. However, if you use your internet for alternate purposes such as gaming, you will quickly spot the problems with Chrome, most notably the lack of extensions and add-ons. If Google were to make a few distinct changes to some of the current features, the browser would attract a more sophisticated audience, and so will be widely used as the No.1 Browser which Firefox currently holds the title for.

Please feel free to comment on the Chrome 2.0 below.

First time Google have exposed themselves to advertising market.

For the first time, Google have decided to promote their web browser “Google Chrome” on  TV adverts instead of the conventional internet based advertising and other organic growing techniques. Channel ads have already spread throughout the web, via Google’s own services, such as YouTube, as well as  social networks like Linked-In.

Google Japan has already unveiled a video of the Chrome advert, which puts emphasis on the clean interface it provides. The ad contains no spoken words, but just action. Words are used towards the end of the advert indicating to “install Google Chrome.”

What does this commercial show?

It seems that Google are trying to increase Chrome’s market share, more than any previous product. After all, every Chrome install means that another user gets to use Google as the default search engine. However, how successful will a TV advert be in convincing people to move away from their Firefox’s and IE’s and to install Chrome as their default browser? Well, it might have some impact, as it will definitely reach the eyes of the mainstream public, many of whom, who would still be unaware of the Chrome.

However, Google still have a fair bit to do with Chrome, in order for it to effectively compete with IE, Mozilla, and Safari etc. It has yet to release a Mac version and an extension platform. If these two key developments take place, we can expect to see Chrome’s market share increase by a significant amount.