I can't say I'm remotely surprised by Google's entry into the browser market (was anybody?). In fact, I'm surprised it has taken this long to happen - the writing has been on the wall for years. I'm more curious how they kept such a relatively tight lid on this? There have been rumors for years, but they seem to have gone quiet recently. And then all of a sudden -- here it is!

Anyway, as an interactive agency I can't say the addition of another browser, especially one that is likely reasonable adoption, to test was the most welcome of news. But the inner geek quickly takes over and the excitement got the best of me.

So a few quick comments of what I've observed so far.

What I've liked:

• It seems pretty zippy on Javascript heavy pages (which I use a lot)
• It's crashed once in several days of heavy use (Firefox 3 still crashes on me quite a few times a day)
• The minimalist approach in a browser is appreciated
• I like the tabs at the top
• Google Gears works well (surprise)
  

What still needs work:

• Plug-ins - though I'm not a huge plug-in guy, there are some critical ones I'd like to see (on the way)
  
• I don't really like the blue - though I understand there are themes out already
• Most sites hold up ok, but some more complex will need some work (Evernote was a tough one for me)
  
• Text editors are a disaster (not surprisingly)
• Initially it wasn't being identified in Google Analytics, but that has been remedied I understand

It would seem that Google is trying build Chrome into a solid base for web-based applications. This is a welcome addition from our perspective. And the competition is always good for all of us.

Drop us a comment and let us know your impressions so far, esepcially as it relates to web design and development.