The browser wars are alive and well. While Google is working out the kinks in its beta version of Chrome — a Wednesday update fixed issues with crashing and video playback — Firefox is pushing a beta 3.1 version that promises new features and better performance. Meanwhile, market leader Microsoft still dominates with Internet Explorer 7.
“The browser wars continue. But consumers already have plenty of choices with IE, Safari, Firefox and Opera. The real question is if Google can get those users to shift. Mainstream consumers are wondering why they need to make the transition,” said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of mobile strategy for Jupitermedia. “Chrome is still a solution in search of a problem.”
Chrome’s Web 2.0 Advantage
If test results from WebSketch are right, Chrome may have a marketable advantage: Speed. The company reported a 3x performance improvement over Microsoft IE 7 when using Google Chrome.
In its internal benchmarking tests, editing sites using Chrome is on average three times faster than with IE, WebSketch said. The company said the benefits of Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine also make adding, moving and resizing objects such as Flickr photos, YouTube videos, and other widgets significantly faster and smoother.
Google may have an advantage for the time being, but how long is another matter. Like Chrome, upcoming versions of Firefox and Safari are developed with JavaScript-heavy Web 2.0 applications in mind in order to deliver a rich, interactive user experience. That once again levels the playing field and makes it harder to convince consumers to make the switch, analysts said.
No ‘Mozilla Effect’
Even if Chrome is faster with Web 2.0 applications, the Google-branded browser still has plenty of problems to solve to compete with Microsoft and Mozilla. Google has not indicated how long Chrome might remain in beta, but the company is known for…