(CNN) — Android is finally getting Chromed out.
Google launched a beta version of Chrome for Android smartphones and tablets Tuesday, delivering a mobile version of the popular desktop web browser after a very long wait. Indeed, both Android and Chrome launched more than three years ago, and users have demanded unification ever since.
Why bemoan the long wait? Much like the company’s other products and services, the new Chrome app hooks wonderfully into the Google universe, giving those immersed in desktop Google apps even more incentive to choose Android as their mobile OS. So, naturally, we would hope — nay, expect — that Chrome would be the default browser for the Android OS.
But this hasn’t been the case. Android users have been forced to use a generic, stock browser (unceremoniously named “Browser”) that’s inferior to not only Chrome, but also other browsers available in the Android Market. Dolphin, anyone?
Google had a reason to take its time: It wanted to do Chrome for Android right.
“We didn’t want to just push out Chrome light,” said Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Google Chrome, in an interview. “Our goal was to get all of Chrome onto Android.”
Which is exactly what Pichai and his team did. It’s a full version of the Chrome browser for Android, still performing as adroitly as ever without losing the features that come in the desktop version.
There are clear perks in using Chrome instead of other Android browsers. If you’re already a desktop Chrome user, your bookmarks will be synced across all your browser versions after signing into your Google account. Even cooler, if you’ve left pages open on your laptop at home, you can access those same open tabs from your mobile Chrome browser. Search terms you’ve entered on your desktop browser also carry over to Chrome for Android, saving precious time and screen tapping.
But most important of all, Chrome is fast. Really freaking fast. When typing in an address into the search bar, for instance, Chrome predicts what page you’re going to visit and starts loading it in the browser background. So by the time you’ve clicked “go,” most of the site has already loaded.
To be sure, the Chrome browser itself is nothing new. It’s been around since 2008, when Google first decided to take on Microsoft, Mozilla and others by casting its lot in the browser wars. The move proved to be a smart one: For nearly the past year and a half, Chrome has slowly increased market share, according to various browser analytics firms’ estimates.
In fact, Chrome actually surpassed Firefox, once the most popular alternative to the dominant Internet Explorer (which still holds about 50 percent of desktop browser share). After Tuesday’s debut for Android devices — of which there are more than 700,000 activations daily — Chrome’s adoption numbers will only escalate.
But the Chrome release raises a number of questions about the new browser app, and the relationship that the Android and Chrome teams have with one another. When the Chrome team first announced it was creating a Chrome-based operating system — later to be known as Chrome OS — it was difficult to resolve how the software wouldn’t come into conflict with Android. After all, Android is the premier operating system for all things mobile (smartphones, tablets). Except, that is, for Google’s version of the netbook: the Chromebook. So the question is, Which OS owns what? Is it Chrome for netbooks, and Android for everything else?
Pichai thinks there’s room enough for both operating systems. The Chrome OS, he says, can be seen “as a different computing paradigm.” It’s one that, “end-to-end, is fully based on the web.”
“Native mobile applications are thriving, but web apps are going to thrive as well,” Pichai said.
While it’s nice to see the two camps playing nicely in Tuesday’s release, it’s not without a caveat. As of Tuesday’s launch, Chrome for Android is only available for smartphones and tablets running Android version 4.0 (a.k.a. Ice Cream Sandwich). At this point, this includes just a handful of phones and tablets. And of course, it’s Chrome “beta” for Android, so don’t expect everything to work perfectly.
Still, Pichai is confident the Chrome team will drop the “beta” title sooner rather than later. “After announcing Chrome the first time, we took it out of beta in three months,” Pichai said. “I’d expect this to happen here in the near future.” And as it stands, after Chrome moves out of beta, the plan is for Chrome to take the place of Android’s default browser permanently.
If you’ve got Ice Cream Sandwich, head to the Android Market to download the app right now.
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Article source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/07/tech/mobile/android-chrome/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular
Tags: Android Market, Chrome Web, Sundar Pichai, WIRED
Chrome, Firefox Engineers Defend Google, Mozilla Search Deal
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Page 1 of 2 )
Engineers for
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Mozilla’s desktop browser teams lashed out at media
reports that questioned the companies’ renewed deal to put Google search in the
Firefox browser toolbar.
Google and Mozilla renewed their deal to feature
Google as the default search provider for the Firefox toolbar Dec. 20. Google
pays Mozilla a portion of ad revenue generated from those searches.
Google and
Mozilla both declined to provide financial terms of the new arrangement due to
confidentiality agreements the companies inked. AllThingsDigital said the deal was worth $300 million a year for
at least the next three years, valuing the deal at $900 million.
This sum, if
true, is worth more than three times more on an annualized basis than the
previous arrangement Google and Mozilla forged, when Mozilla reported earning
nearly $100 million of its $123 million in 2010 revenue from its deal with
Google.
Google clearly
paid a premium to keep Mozilla from making Microsoft Bing or Yahoo its default
search provider. What makes the deal particularly intriguing is that Google’s
Chrome Web browser has made huge market-share gains in just three and a half
years since it launched, growing to 19 percent while Firefox has fallen under
22 percent, according to the latest Net Applications numbers.
TechCrunch
blogger-turned venture capitalist MG Siegler expressed surprise that Google would
pay that much money to fund a competitor: “One thing is certain: Google is
not paying Mozilla a billion dollars out of the kindness of their hearts. Doing
so would be irresponsible to their shareholders. Again, they’re paying all that
money to a competitor.”
This
sentiment, echoed by other journalists, elicited some commentary from key
Chrome and Firefox browser engineers.
Peter Kasting,
who Google hired to work on Firefox before the company built Chrome, argued
that Google is funding an open-source partner to help advance the Web, both in
introducing a faster browser and spurring browsers, such as Firefox, Microsoft
(NASDAQ:MSFT) Internet Explorer and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Safari, to get better.
“It’s
completely irrelevant to this goal whether Chrome actually gains tons of users
or whether, instead, the Web advances because the other browser vendors step up
their game and produce far better browsers. Either way, the Web gets better.
Job done. The end,” Kasting wrote on Google+ Dec. 24.
“So it’s
very easy to see why Google would be willing to fund Mozilla: Like Google,
Mozilla is clearly committed to the betterment of the Web, and they’re spending
their resources to make a great, open-source Web browser.
Article source: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Application-Development/Chrome-Firefox-Engineers-Defend-Google-Mozilla-Search-Deal-739999/
Tags: Chrome Web, Google Dec, Microsoft Bing, Peter Kasting
As 2011 speeds to a close, it’s time to reflect on companies’ top products or achievements for the year. Google had a solid year on many fronts, carrying on its tradition with its search engine and expanding Android to be the dominant mobile platform for smartphones. The company also launched Google+, its belated answer to Facebook’s giant social network, and continued development on its popular Chrome Web browser. We should also applaud Google for its green efforts, and for its work in sprinkling artificial intelligence into driverless cars and in powering homes via its Android@Home initiative. eWEEK walks through some of the more successful products and moves the company made in 2011.
Article source: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Cloud-Computing/Google-Android-Chrome-Top-Google-Products-in-2011-356735/
Tags: Android Home, Chrome Web
The Christmas holiday isn’t the only thing Mozilla employees have to be cheerful about these days.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is paying the software maker $300 million a year over the next three year to feature its search engine in its Firefox Web browser, AllThingsDigital learned Dec. 22.
If true, Mozilla will take in nearly three times as much in 2012 as it took in 2010, when nearly $100 million of its $123 million in revenues came from its previous search deal with Google.
AllThingsDigital said Mozilla was able to command such a handsome sum by including Google search rivals Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) in the bidding process for the coveted slot in Firefox, which has anywhere from 22 to 25 percent market share, or hundreds of millions of users worldwide.
Google and Mozilla declined to comment on the financial terms of the new agreement, which Mozilla announced Dec. 20 and confirmed was good for at least the next three years.
In the arrangement, Mozilla drives searches to Google.com from the search box in Firefox and Google pays Mozilla a portion of ad revenues generated from those searches.
The arrangement is certainly interesting because it’s not without some tension. Google launched its Chrome Web browser in September 2008, when Firefox was on its way to garnering 25 percent share by nibbling away at Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Internet Explorer share.
Chrome commands anywhere from 18 percent to 25 percent market share, depending on whether you believe the more conservative number from Net Applications, or the loftier number from StatCounter.
By tripling its revenue with Google’s search deal alone, Mozilla is the big winner in this deal. The company gets the cash to fund other projects beyond Firefox, which, while popular and steadily improving, is no longer growing.
Mozilla Messaging CEO David Ascher identified some of those projects as Boot2Gecko, a Firefox OS for smartphones; the identity-based BrowserID alternative to Facebook Connect and Google Account credentials; and Apps initiative, which is intended to help developers write programs that work on all devices.
Google wins on multiple fronts. One, it benefits from millions of searches driven by millions of Firefox users. Two, it keeps those searches away from Bing , which at only 15 percent market share is more desperate to have them.
Three, Google comes off as a benevolent benefactor, providing the majority of funds for a leading, fellow open-source Web browser with which it shares a lot of common interests.
Finally, Firefox and Chrome both win because together they account for anywhere from 40 to 50 percent market share, providing a nice pair of open-source alternatives to market leader Microsoft Internet Explorer, which has dominated the market for the last 15 years since stamping out Netscape.
Article source: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Search-Engines/Google-Paying-Mozilla-900M-in-Search-Deal-ATD-890475/
Tags: Chrome Web, Firefox Web, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Net Applications
The Samsung Chromebook open and ready for work.
Judging from all those Chromebook ads you’ve been seeing pop up on every tech. Web site known to man. Google really, really wants you to buy a Chromebook. Should you?
I like my Samsung Chromebook, but it looks like not many people fell in love with these Chrome OS powered netbooks. So, Acer and Samsung have reduced their price from a high of $499 to $299 and Google started banging the advertising drum for Chromebooks. So, should you let the new price tempt you into getting one?
I say yes.. My Samsung Series 5 Chromebook, which I’ve been using for months now, is the perfect grab and go laptop. It’s weights just over three-pounds, the battery lasts for about ten hours, and the lightweight Linux desktop with a Chrome Web browser interface is all I need for work out of the office.
That said, the first generation of Chrome OS had its problems. On the other hand, since then Google has made numerous significant improvements to Chrome OS and almost every week sees new improvement to Chrome OS, the Chrome Web browser, and Google’s family of cloud-based applications that Chromebooks use in lieu of traditional desktop apps.
How to try ChromeOS without a Chromebook.
Rajen Sheth, Google’s group product manager for Chrome for Business. recently explained, “We’re not selling a device, we’re selling a new paradigm of Web-based computing.” Google’s long term goal is to the blur the difference between Web-based and local desktop applications so that both will work equally well for you. Google knows, however, that this will require a “mind shift.” So, is today’s Chromebook ready to shift your mind? Here’s where we are today.
Chromebook Hardware:
The Samsung Series 5 comes with a matte 12.1-inch display. It’s powered by an Intel Atom N570 dual-core CPU running at 1.66Ghz, has 2GBs of RAM, and a 16GB solid state drive (SSD). For graphics, it uses an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150.
Sounds as slow as a 2009 vintage netbook doesn’t it? It’s not. All that hardware has to do is power a very thin-Linux operating system and run the Chrome Web browser on top of it. For those purposes, the processor is more than fast enough and 2GBs of memory is all you’ll need. Storage? Almost everything you do will be stored on the cloud. 16GB is more than enough.
On the netbook sized system’s left side you’ll find a headset/microphone jack, with a USB 2.0 port and a proprietary port for a VGA dongle hidden behind a plastic door. The second USB port and a SIM card slot hide behind plastic door on the right side. In the front you’ll find a card reader that can handle SD, SDHC, SDXC , or MMC cards. At the top of the display, it also has a Webcam. For networking it uses a 3G radio and 802.11n Wi-Fi. It doesn’t, however, have an Ethernet port.
There’s also no Bluetooth. I can live without an Ethernet port, but the lack of Bluetooth bugs me. The Samsung’s Webcam is fine, but I’d love to be able to make Google Voice calls from my Chromebook via my Motorola H17 Bluetooth headset.
On the other hand, the keyboard, while not back-lit, boasts large, well-spaced out keys. Although larger than most netbooks, many laptops have abysmal keyboards. I found the Samsung Series 5 keyboard to be the next best thing to my gold standard for keyboards: the Lenovo ThinkPad’s keyboards.
That said, the Chromebook keyboard is not your usual keyboards. It has no function keys and the delete key is also missing in action. Instead, it duplicates some of this functionality with keyboard shortcuts. To find out about ChromeOS’ keyboard shortcuts, use the keyboard combo “Ctrl-Alt-?” to open up a display that will show you all keyboard shortcuts.
The touchpad is good-sized and I was able to work with it without much trouble. I hate all touchpads though, so I replaced it with a mouse.
The touchpad is capable of multi-touch gesture. At this time, only two-finger scrolling, right button clicking, and drag and drop multi-touch are supported. To drag and drop, you use one finger to click on an item, then use a second finger to move the item to your intended location and then release both fingers to drop it.
The battery life is remarkably good. I’ve used my Chromebook constantly for up to ten plus hours and I’ve yet to bring it under 10% of remaining battery life. I’ve finally found a laptop that, provided my plane had Wi-Fi, I could use constantly over a trans-Atlantic flight.
I could actually keep it that long in my lap as well. The Samsung runs cooler than any other laptop or netbook I’ve ever used and at a bit over three-pounds it can sit there, or on a flimsy airplane table, all day.
Chromebook Software:
The Chromebook’s real strength is the Chrome Web browser and your Google account. Without a Google account, you can’t use a Chromebook. Yes, there is Linux underneath Chrome, but only the most hardcore of Linux hardware hackers are going to bother with it.
You don’t need to be online to use a Chromebook. You can save music, documents, video and what have you on the local SSD. It’s not ideal though. For example, while you can work with Gmail off-line, you still can’t use Google Docs off-line. Sure you can save and view your Google docs off-line but you can’t edit them. Google promised that we’d have the ability to edit Google documents and spreadsheets off-line back in August, but we’re still waiting for it to show up.
So, sure, Chromebook works hand-in-glove with such Google services as Gmail for e-mail,Google Docs for your office work, and Picasa for photos. And, you don’t have to use Google-based software as a service (SaaS) or cloud-services. For example, I’ve used Salesforce and Zoho applications with it. You can also always find more Chrome applications in the Chrome Web Store. But the bottom line is that the Chromebook works best, as promised, as an Internet, cloud-based device.
When you use it as intended, it works well. I can write this story, grab mail, video-conference with a plan using Google Talk or ooVoo and listen to music from my cloud-based Google Music library (http://www.zdnet.com/blog/networking/google-music-your-great-music-locker-in-the-cloud-review/1671).
Since the Chromebook first showed up, Google has made numerous improvements to the ChromeOS. The current stable version is Chrome version 16.0.912.63 and it’s a real improvement over the first version.
For example, it’s now easy to use virtual private networks (VPN)s with ChromeOS. If that is, you use L2TP over IPsec with PSK and L2TP over IPsec with certificate-based authentication. It still doesn’t support SSL VPNs, such as OpenVPN or proprietary VPN implementations, such as Cisco Anyconnect. I’d really like to see both supported.
It’s also faster than the last version and, thanks to its Chrome Web browser brother 15 release, ChromeOS has inherited its new tab and screen display. This makes it easier to jump from your favorite pages to your favorite applications and back again.
So, so long as you’re connected to the Internet, the Chromebook is great. But, ChromeOS still has trouble dealing with files on the SSD. For example, when I look at my local files I can view PDF documents and PNG images, but Chrome OS still doesn’t know what to make of Word document files, LibreOffice document files or zipped files. Come on! Google Docs can open both the first two and it’s 2011, what other operating system doesn’t know how to at least view the contents of a zipped archive?
Still, at least with the latest release, Google has made some process with local files. ChromeOS now suggests that that I upload it to Google Docs rather than give me an unknown file type error message. That’s nice, but what I really want is for Chrome OS to do is either open the file in Google Docs, which is what I’d expect it to do, or at least give me a choice to open it rather than ask me to do it by hand.
Curiously, with some file types, such as PNG. ChromeOS will both show me the file and give me the option of using the appropriate Google program: Picasa. Clearly, there’s still room for progress.
Still, while these problems are annoying, the bottom line is that Chromebooks aren’t meant to be used offline. They’re not meant to be yet another fat-client, ala Windows, desktop. They’re cloud-based desktops that just happen to use Linux as their foundation.
So is a Chromebook worth getting? Problems and all, I think so. It’s not going to replace my weighty Linux Mint 12-powered Lenovo ThinkPad R61 anytime soon, but it’s just what I need for when I need for run and work computing. Sure, I could use a tablet, but as nice as they are, when it comes to serious work I need a keyboard and for that I’ll take an inexpensive Chromebook any day of the week.
Related Stories:
Google exec discusses future for Google Apps, Chromebooks
Google: We don’t need Chrome OS, we want cloud login for PCs
Chromebooks Live!
Google’s Chrome operating system gets a much needed update
Chrome 15: The Best Browser keeps getting better (Review)
Article source: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/google-wants-you-to-buy-a-chromebook-should-you-review/10019
Tags: Chrome OS, Chrome Web, Google Docs, Related Stories
Google rolled out an updated version of its Chrome Web browser this week, fixing several high-risk vulnerabilities that could leave out-of-date browsers susceptible to attack.
Released on Tuesday, Chrome 16 fixes 15 bugs, six of which Google, in a post on its Chrome blog, labeled high-risk, meaning a malicious party could gain unauthorized privileges on infected systems by spoofing the website address in the URL bar or via rigged PDF files.
Of the remaining bugs, seven were labeled medium-risk and two were classified as low-risk. As part the bug bounty-hunting program, Chrome paid outside researchers $6,000 for detecting and reporting eight of the flaws.
One of the most basic, but most important, ways to keep your computer free from viruses and malware is to run the most up-to-date version of your Web browser. In this case, if you use Chrome, click on the wrench icon in the top right corner of your browser, then select “About Google Chrome” to make sure you’re running version 16.0.912.63.
© 2011 SecurityNewsDaily. All rights reserved
Article source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45703067/ns/technology_and_science-security/
Tags: Chrome Web, Experts Say, PDF, URL
Google rolled out an updated version of its Chrome Web browser this week, fixing several high-risk vulnerabilities that could leave out-of-date browsers susceptible to attack.
Released on Tuesday, Chrome 16 fixes 15 bugs, six of which Google, in a post on its Chrome blog, labeled high-risk, meaning a malicious party could gain unauthorized privileges on infected systems by spoofing the website address in the URL bar or via rigged PDF files.
Of the remaining bugs, seven were labeled medium-risk and two were classified as low-risk. As part the bug bounty-hunting program, Chrome paid outside researchers $6,000 for detecting and reporting eight of the flaws.
One of the most basic, but most important, ways to keep your computer free from viruses and malware is to run the most up-to-date version of your Web browser. In this case, if you use Chrome, click on the wrench icon in the top right corner of your browser, then select “About Google Chrome” to make sure you’re running version 16.0.912.63.
© 2011 SecurityNewsDaily. All rights reserved
Article source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45703067/ns/technology_and_science-security/
Tags: Chrome Web, Experts Say, PDF, URL
Web tracker StatCounter says that for the first time, usage of Google’s Chrome Web browser has surpassed Firefox to become the second most popular browser, behind Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Though the stats are from the United Kingdom only, Chrome is on pace to soon surpass Firefox globally. What is driving Chrome’s popularity, and should your business be using it?
Google wants us all to live in the browser, businesses included, and is taking steps to make it possible. It’s developing the Chrome OS at the same time, which allows its Chromebook, a netbook-like laptop, to run what appears to be nothing but a Web browser. Google is constantly adding features to make its browser more secure, faster, and easier to use. Most of these aren’t exclusive to Chrome, but the Chrome browser is unique in incorporating them all. Here are the top five reasons your business should be using Google Chrome.
1. Sandboxing
Sandboxing prevents what’s happening in one browser tab from affecting other tabs, by running each tab as a separate process. This is like separating browser tabs into individual programs that can’t talk to each other. This helps prevent malware from installing, which is critical in preventing outside attackers from gaining access to your business’s data. It also generally keeps a tab that has crashed from affecting other tabs, which can save you time and lost work.
2. Auto-Update
No matter how carefully coded, all software has bugs, and some of these can make the software insecure. To minimize the time required to patch these holes as they are discovered, Google built Chrome to auto-update, so it constantly patches itself. This not only reduces the chance of an outside attacker exploiting a hole in the software, but it gives you the latest features as they are released as well.
[Also see: Chrome Web apps for work]
3. Safe Browsing
The Internet is a dangerous place, with malware and phishing the two most common threats. Google tracks websites it suspects are dangerous, and if you enable Safe Browsing, Chrome will bring up a warning page before you visit one of these sites. This is another step to keep malware from opening your computer to an outside attacker, and it also helps prevent business related login information from falling into the wrong hands.
4. Speed
One of Google’s main goals with Chrome was to improve browser speed, and it is constantly making performance improvements. Many of these focus on improving the speed of JavaScript, which powers most of Google’s online services. For businesses that use Google Apps, this means Chrome will generally be the fastest and most reliable browser to get work done.
5. Flexibility
Firefox’s large library of extensions is one of the reasons for its success. Chrome offers an extensive number of extensions as well, yet through Google’s Web Store. Extensions offer users a way to expand the functionality of their browser. Increasingly, Web-based services like those from Google, Evernote, and StumbleUpon are using Chrome extensions to more tightly integrate their websites with the browser. Chrome’s capability to install, enable, disable, and uninstall extensions without restarting the browser not only saves time, but with extensions such asContext, it allows users to turn on and off groups of extensions depending on need.
Joseph Fieber spent 25 years as an IT pro, and has a background in computer consulting and software training. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter, or contact him through his website, JosephFieber.com.
Article source: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/245294/5_reasons_chrome_should_be_your_work_browser.html
Tags: Chrome Web, IT, Joseph Fieber, Safe Browsing
Google has begun adding its own ads to the top of Chrome’s new-tab page.
(Credit:
screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)
Google just found another digital billboard for online ads: its Chrome Web browser.
I just started noticing the ads on one of my computers yesterday, and I’m not the only one to see them. Right now, the ads tout Google’s Chrome OS-powered Chromebooks, which not coincidentally happen to be on sale for the holidays.
The ads don’t interrupt ordinary Web browsing by pushing aside Web page content and don’t compete with regular Web page ads. Rather, they appear in a yellow-tinted box at the top of the new-tab page in Chrome.
That page is typically a mere way station for users on their way to other destinations, but it’s getting more important as a hub for Chrome Web Store apps and as the home screen for Chrome OS.
The ad reminded me most of the occasional promotions Google puts on its otherwise spartan Google.com home. They’re not obnoxious flashing distractions, but they stand out against amid the uncluttered field.
You can’t blame Google for wanting to take advantage of a chance to make money. But as the Spiderman saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility.
When Google launched Chrome in September 2008, it made it clear that the browser was a secondary mechanism for making money. The company wanted people to see Web pages faster and to enable programmers to build more advanced Web applications–like Google Docs, for example.
And as we’ve seen since then, Google likes using Chrome as a vehicle to bring new Web-app features to market–a new experimental interface to let Chrome extensions use a speech-to-text conversion, for example–and to encourage would-be Google standards such as SPDY networking, WebM video, and WebP images.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that Chrome’s new-tab page ads will likely remain like Google’s home-page ads. They’re chiefly used to promote Google services, and occasionally to offer important information such as links to natural-disaster response pages. But Google doesn’t sell the ad space the way Yahoo does with its main page.
There’s nothing stopping Google from plastering its entire browser with ads. But the moment it did so, it would start annoying users who already have plenty of other strong choices in the browser market right now. And in the long run, I believe Google will make a lot more money using browsers to advance Web services and to drive people to Google search ads than it will selling banners in its browser.
Article source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57331212-264/googles-new-ad-space-chrome/?part=rss&subj=latest-news&tag=title
Tags: Chrome Web, Chrome Web Store, Google Docs, SPDY
Google has begun adding its own ads to the top of Chrome’s new-tab page.
(Credit:
screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)
Google just found another digital billboard for online ads: its Chrome Web browser.
I just started noticing the ads on one of my computers yesterday, and I’m not the only one to see them. Right now, the ads tout Google’s Chrome OS-powered Chromebooks, which not coincidentally happen to be on sale for the holidays.
The ads don’t interrupt ordinary Web browsing by pushing aside Web page content and don’t compete with regular Web page ads. Rather, they appear in a yellow-tinted box at the top of the new-tab page in Chrome.
That page is typically a mere way station for users on their way to other destinations, but it’s getting more important as a hub for Chrome Web Store apps and as the home screen for Chrome OS.
The ad reminded me most of the occasional promotions Google puts on its otherwise spartan Google.com home. They’re not obnoxious flashing distractions, but they stand out against amid the uncluttered field.
You can’t blame Google for wanting to take advantage of a chance to make money. But as the Spiderman saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility.
When Google launched Chrome in September 2008, it made it clear that the browser was a secondary mechanism for making money. The company wanted people to see Web pages faster and to enable programmers to build more advanced Web applications–like Google Docs, for example.
And as we’ve seen since then, Google likes using Chrome as a vehicle to bring new Web-app features to market–a new experimental interface to let Chrome extensions use a speech-to-text conversion, for example–and to encourage would-be Google standards such as SPDY networking, WebM video, and WebP images.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that Chrome’s new-tab page ads will likely remain like Google’s home-page ads. They’re chiefly used to promote Google services, and occasionally to offer important information such as links to natural-disaster response pages. But Google doesn’t sell the ad space the way Yahoo does with its main page.
There’s nothing stopping Google from plastering its entire browser with ads. But the moment it did so, it would start annoying users who already have plenty of other strong choices in the browser market right now. And in the long run, I believe Google will make a lot more money using browsers to advance Web services and to drive people to Google search ads than it will selling banners in its browser.
Article source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57331212-264/googles-new-ad-space-chrome/
Tags: Chrome Web, Chrome Web Store, Google Docs, SPDY
