1. There will be a mobile version of Google Chrome.
Does it seem strange that Google have decided to build their new web browser on the Webkit platform instead of Mozilla? Especially when you consider how much support Google has provided for Firefox? Not when you think of the mobile device angle. As I have posted before, Google understand that the next major phase of personal computing will be mobile centric, it’s no coincidence that the Webkit platform also powers the browsers found on S60 Nokia’s, Apple iPhone’s and (soon) Android based devices. Expect to see versions of Google Chrome, almost certainly with Gears support, for at least these popular mobile operating systems.
2. It doesn’t actually matter whether Google Chrome ‘wins’ the browser war. Google’s entry to the market will influence future browser development.
How long do you think till Firefox, IE and Opera implement some of the best features found in Google Chrome? (about as long as it took for Microsoft to copy tabbed browsing over from Firefox I imagine…). I’m sure sure that Google will actively campaign for a big slice of browser share, but the companies bigger long term goal has consistently been to deepen and extend everyday internet usage. More web use = more searches = a bigger advertising market. Google Chrome is as much an ‘application’ browser as it is a conventional web browser. It is built to make it as easy as possible for people to do more, and spend more time, attention etc interacting with the web. If competing web browsers also implement features that encourage users to spend more time using the web then Google will likely win no matter which browser you choose.
3. Google Chrome will help to push the uptake of Google Apps in enterprise.
Businesses interested in the benefits of moving to a cloud desktop computing approach but concerned about offline access, browser stability issues and user acceptance now have an answer. Chrome’s implementation of Gears will make it much easier for organisations to make the switch. Offline access is baked in and Google Apps can now be made to look and feel very similar to traditional desktop software - users don’t even need to know that their software is being delivered through a browser. Application stability is now no longer any more of an issue than it is for existing desktop applications, due to the way Chrome ’sandboxes’ browsing sessions.
4. All this means that mainstream cloud computing is now really going to happen.
Prepare for a tipping point - over the next year real people are going to start using web applications in their daily lives - just like us early adopters and nerds. How fast will depend on how successful Google is at getting PC manufactures to bundle Chrome (handily pre-set up with easy access to Google Docs, Gmail etc) on newly shipped PCs. If I were Google, I would target the emerging ‘netbook’ PC market like crazy to make sure that Chrome was the first thing users saw on their initial boot. I heard Kevin Rose on Diggnation recently relating his sisters surprise at having to pay extra to have a (Microsoft) Office suite added to her new PC. Google Chrome will ensure that she and millions more won’t have to in future. This is going to be like Windows 3.1 - a new browser based phase of personal computing is just around the corner.
5. Which also means that Microsoft really do now need to get themselves a new desktop software strategy.
It’s been a long time coming, but Microsoft have now to face the reality of a long term decline in demand for their desktop software products. I was interested to see the results of a ReadWriteWeb poll yesterday asking readers which Word Processing tool they mostly used; Microsoft Office had remained static compared to last year at around 47%, Google Docs had nearly doubled its share over the same period up to 19% from 11% previously. Obviously this is just a snap poll - but the trend is realistic. Would you bet against Google Docs taking market share away from Microsoft Word when poll is repeated next year? Microsoft need to think about what they are going to do - perhaps they should be consider becoming a cloud computing enabler, opening access to it’s servers, processing capabilities and desktop API’s to developers?
