Why has Google rushed Chrome out of beta?

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 12 Dec 2008 at 08:03

Google has removed the beta tag from its Chrome browser - just 100 days after the software was first launched.

It's a staggeringly fast turnaround for a company that is now almost legendary for leaving products to gestate in beta for years.

GMail remains in beta more than four years after it was first launched, while the photo editing software Picasa only recently dropped its beta status for the first time since it was acquired by Google in 2004.

The search giant claims the removal of Chrome's beta tag is an indication of its maturity. "We have removed the beta label as our goals for stability and performance have been met but our work is far from done," the company claims in a blog post.

However, critics are suggesting that Google has whipped off the beta tag in an attempt to boost the browser's disappointing market share. Net Applications claims Chrome commanded only 0.83% of the browser market in November - a mere 0.05% increase on its first month of availability in September.

PC Pro's own website statistics show a similar lack of momentum. Chrome was used by 3.94% of visitors to this site in September, but dropped slightly to 3.88% in November.

Google may be hoping that companies will be more inclined to install Chrome now that the beta tag has been removed. Last month, the company said it would also pay PC makers to bundle Chrome on new PCs.

Improved performance

Google claims Chrome's performance has improved significantly since September. "Since the first beta, the V8 JavaScript engine runs 1.4 times faster on the SunSpider benchmark and 1.5 times faster on the V8 benchmark - and there is more speed to come," it claims. The company also says it's addressed glitches with video and audio playback.

Furthermore, Google is hoping to close ground on its close colleagues at Mozilla by apeing Firefox's extensions. The Google developer notes admit that the lack of extensions is costing the browser users, claiming its own scheme will address the problem of "users coming from other browsers who are used to certain extensions that they can't live without".

New features?

There are no new features in the full build that weren't already in previous beta releases. However the company says that it is "working to add some common browser features such as form autofill and RSS support in the near future."

The full version of the browser is available for download now. Beta users can force the upgrade by clicking on the tools menu, selecting About Google Chrome and clicking the Update Now button.