Search giant Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has released a mobile version of its Chrome browser. The beta, or public testing, version of Mobile Chrome will be available on tablets and smartphones running the latest version of the Android operating system, nicknamed “Ice Cream Sandwich.”
This brand integration arrives years after the initial release of the browser and the Android platform, but it does, at least, enter the market at a time when Chrome is pushing ahead in popularity.
Chrome’s primary areas of focus are speed and synchronization. Faster search is provided with a predictive search box that begins loading its “best guess” search-topic result before a user finishes typing, cutting back on wait time. Synchronization between computer and mobile versions of Chrome will mean that bookmarks are easily shared and tabs opened on the computer can be reopened on the mobile device with a simple push of the button.
The Chrome-Android union is a natural one, which raises a question for Google: What took so long? Google claims the wait stemmed from a desire to get the mobile browser “right,” but from a user perspective a rough draft version of Chrome would likely have proven more popular than the generic browser preinstalled on Android devices. That browser, actually called “Browser,” prompted many Android users to seek out third-party browser applications as an alternative.
Still, this is a better-late-than-never scenario. Global Internet usage on non-tablet devices doubled to 8.5% in early 2012, according to research from StatCounter. Chrome will likely find a firm base of users in that group due to its rising, general popularity. A separate StatCounter study, announced in December, found that Chrome 15, the newest version for PCs, accounted for 23.6% of global browser use compared to 23.5% for Internet Explorer 8 from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). IE8 remains marginally more popular in the U.S. while Chrome has pulled ahead in the U.K. A mobile version of IE8 will be arriving this fall with the Windows 8 operating system.
Growth for Mobile Chrome use will be constrained by the fact that it will run only on the newest version of Android–Ice Cream Sandwich. Those devices account for only 1% of Android ownership, and that’s including an estimated 700,000 new Android activations per day. Newer device models include ICS but Google halted upgrades to existing devices, such as the Nexus S smartphone, the process generated numerous error reports. Chrome will eventually be available for all mobile operating systems, including Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS.
It’s a wise move for Google to draw attention to a popular product, especially after the recent public relations snafus over its controversial privacy policy changes, which left many people wondering whether Google had lost sight of what made it so popular in the first place.
