14 DAY TRIAL // Unlike its competitors, Google did not cry from the rooftops the new version of Chrome. Instead they rolled it out in the same quite manner we’ve grown accustomed to, through their silent update mechanism. The reason for adopting this update method is also the quick stable version release, set to every six weeks.
Since its initial release in 2008 Chrome turned from the status of the underdog to that of a trendsetter, imposing new standards in the way browsers display web content. Not much has changed with regards to the interface and it still is among the slimmest browsers on the market, aced only by Internet Explorer 9 at this chapter.
There is no point to linger on the installation procedure as the web installer accomplishes the task with a minimum of effort from your part.
Looks remain as minimalist as the first time we reviewed the application, but don’t let this fool you because there are plenty of options under the hood, both for the average user as well as for developers.
Everything is condensed into multi-purpose buttons or hidden from main view, but easy to access, nevertheless, so you will not see much when firing up Google Chrome. The minimalist interface design shows just the tabs, the location bar the basic navigation buttons (“back”, “forward” and “refresh/stop”) and access to the app’s control center.
Omnibar is still present in Chrome 11, maintaining its double functionality as an address bar as well as a web search input field. Powered by Google Autocomplete, it will show search suggestions, based on your web navigation activity.
The space of a new tab has always been put to good use in Chrome, and along its development stages new sections have been made available to the user. Thus, besides displaying the most visited pages, in the latest version you will also be able to view and access recently closed tabs as well as Web Store, Google’s own online market place where you can find extensions to extend the functionality of the browser, themes and web applications. Bookmarks can also be pinned in the new tab space, for quick access.
As it is built with simplicity in mind, configuring Chrome 11 is not a tough task, even for an average user. There are three menus to go through, each containing the most important knobs required for safe and speedily browsing the web.
You get to set what should be opened when starting the application, define the home page and the default search engine used by Omnibar. A very important feature is Instant, borrowed from Google Search, which enables pages to load up as soon as you type the URL. Search results also appear instantly with this feature on.
Data synchronization across multiple computers is a strong feature in Chrome awaited by many users. If you want to have the same settings, theme, bookmarks, apps, autofill info, passwords and extensions on all your computers, all you have to do is sign into Chrome with your Google account.
Everything is synced in an instant since all the data is saved to your Google account and then copied to the computer. To ensure the privacy of synchronized information you can encrypt the data with a passphrase of your own or the password of your Google account.
Password manager functionality of web browsers has grown in importance and this navigation tool keeps up with the trend. It offers to save passwords and provides management of such data by setting up exceptions. This way only the countersigns specified by the user are preserved, for easy access to web accounts.
A set of more advanced options is also present in the program, although most of them can be tackled by less experienced users. Chrome offers you the possibility to protect your privacy by managing the website you allow setting cookies on your system, or disabling the display of images as well as blocking JavaScript, plug-ins or pop-ups as well as deny websites to track your physical location. All these options are accompanied by the option to set up exceptions to the rule.
Despite its slim frame, Chrome packs a lot of power under the hood and also found room for a task manager which displays resource usage for each of the tabs you have opened. The screen makes available details regarding CPU and RAM usage and network traffic has not been left aside either.
For the nerd in you Google’s browser puts at your disposal a sheet containing full disclosure of how memory is used by the browser’s processes (one for each opened tab). Physical or virtual, private or shared, the details are available if you punch about:memory in the Omnibar. Additionally, RAM usage of other opened web browsers is present in this screen.
Besides its simple interface and ease of use Google Chrome is also known for the speed it manages to load up web pages. The browser had already been rated the fastest of the bunch before changing to an upgraded version of its V8 JavaScript engine, Crankshaft. But after this move Google touted a speed boost of up to 66%.
We put Chrome’s speed at test using Google’s popular V8 and Mozilla’s Kraken JavaScript benchmarks. For comparison reasons we included Firefox in the test as well. The feedback we received favored Chrome entirely.
In V8 higher scores are equivalent with better performance and Chrome recorded an impressive 6620, while Firefox managed a score of only 2877. Translated into percentage, the gap is a crumb higher than 56%.
HTML5 standards support is also higher in Chrome, which received a 293 score, compared to Firefox’s 240.
The Good
Each tab generates its own process; this way crashes will not affect the entire browser, only the misbehaving tab. The built-in task manager provides useful data about system resource usage of each opened tab and running extensions. Currently, Chrome 11 delivers one of the best tab management systems on the market.
You can extend its functionality through extensions found in Web Store. It is among the fastest web browsers on the market. Synchronization across multiple computers is done in a seamless manner and requires only your Google account.
The Bad
The Truth
Its fast-paced development, silent streamlined updates and incredible page-load speeds make it a fierce competitor for traditional applications, such as Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.
It is light, fast, safe and adequate for the average user who does not require any bells and whistle, but a quick, simple way to reach information online.
