Simon Says… check out Google’s new browser – it’s great

You’ve probably seen the billboard adds, though you may not have realised what they were for. No they’re not re launching Simon Says, the 70′s electronic memory game. Does anyone remember it? It was a round electronic memory game, with colourful touch pads and flashing lights – addictive.

The ads are actually for Google Chrome.

Chrome is the first browser of note to hit the market since Apple’s Safari in 2003 and, though released in late 2008, has already overtaken Safari (which itself increased its share) to leap into third place on the list of most popular web browsers. Though with a 4.6% adoption Chrome languishes well behind Microsoft Explorer (which still leads the way with nearly 63% of the market) and second place Firefox (on 24.6%), the fact that Chrome has so quickly moved to establish itself is significant. With Apple and Linux versions of Chrome in beta expect a surge when these come online properly.

In a world where the vast majority of PCs still come pre-installed with Windows OS including Explorer, few web users ever look beyond their default browser. Traditionally it has only been enthusiasts who’ve experimented with different browsers. What seems to be happening now is that Google, through the popularity of their search engine, email and other software, have established a fan base of users ready and willing to sample their products.

Google mean business and there are even reports that instead of following the Microsoft model and charging computer manufacturers to bundle their browser they plan to actually pay them to include Chrome in order to build a stronger bridge head. The Chrome/Explorer browser battle looks set to be yet another front on which the two giants are going head to head.

So what are the main benefits of Chrome?

• Speed and simplicity. Chrome maintains Google’s no nonsense approach to web use. It is fast, simple and efficient.
• Chrome has an Omnibox bar that sits at the top of your browser and builds your profile to assist browsing.
• Snapshots of your most visited sites.
• Drag-and-drop tab features
• Intelligent tabs
• Chrome is clean. The only features at the top of your browser are your bookmarks.
• Quick and easy shortcuts
• Strong browsing safety. Much in the same way that Gmail eliminates so much spam mail so Chrome protects users from malware.