What's next for Google Chrome?

A year after its launch, we look at the future for Google's Chrome browser - and the looming operating system.

By Dave Stevenson, 1 Sep 2009 at 18:40

And Google says “it's important to remember that success for Chrome isn't necessarily about market share.” Could that be because Google expects to pick up market share if its operating system becomes popular on netbooks?

If Google Chrome picks up on netbooks, the effect on the browser market is hard to predict. Earlier this month, Dell claimed it was “quite pleased” with customers’ reaction to Linux-running netbooks, so it may be a safe assumption that consumers will be equally pleased with Chrome OS.

Internet Explorer is only available for Windows, and may see its market share drop sharply if one of the biggest-growing hardware segments becomes non-Windows. IDC reported in July that netbook shipments were expected to more than double this year to over 26 million units.

What does it all means for the smaller players? Firefox appears less likely to be troubled: its huge base of developers means it's flexible, and it's available for Linux. And what of troubled Opera? “We plan to support any popular operating system,” says Jon Tetzchner, chief executive of Opera Software. “If Chrome OS becomes popular, I am sure we will support it.”

He also claims that the increased choice in browsers is a good thing. “Generally people have a lot of choices for most things. How many PC makers are there? Car makers?Furniture makers? Choice is a good thing.”

He may be saying the same thing through gritted teeth in a year’s time, though. Netbook makers such as Acer and Asus were already preparing models running Google’s Android operating system, and that isn’t even designed for netbooks.

If Google can spur top-tier manufacturers into action with an OS designed for mobile phones, who knows what will happen when it releases a lightweight, netbook-optimised platform? And there’s also the question of whether Google will even allow third-party applications to run on Chrome OS.

Chrome’s influence on the browser market in its first year has been huge. Its popularity suggests there’s an enormous number of users who want a fast, reliable browser, as opposed to one creaking at the seams with unwanted features.

But as interesting as the last year has been, it’s the next 12 months that will reveal all.

As online applications grow in both popularity and complexity, performance becomes ever more important.It will be interesting to see how Internet Explorer and Firefox compare to Chrome when it comes to running the online applications that will form a central part of Office 2010.

But the shadow cast by Chrome OS is even bigger. If Google gets the platform and launch right, it could change the netbook scene dramatically. For all the headlines it generated when it burst on the scene, Chrome as a standalone browser may have been a mere shot across the bows of mainstream computing.