Chrome for Android was released with about 3 months delay (or more
than 3 years, depending on your view) on Tuesday. Google hopes to
replicate the runaway success of the desktop version of the browser, but
the browser is less appealing and less accessible to the user than
Chrome, which makes this mobile browser an inconclusive product that, in
addition, lacks compelling features over rivals.
I have to admit that I had high hopes for this browser and felt that I
was a let down by Google today. It is not (yet) the innovative Chrome
browser that arrived with a revolutionary concept almost 4 years ago and
recently surpassed Firefox as the world’s second most popular browser.
Chrome for Android will succeed as Google can leverage its platform
ownership top push it as a default browser, but it is, by far, not a
slam dunk, which is good news for Mozilla and Opera.
Understanding Chrome
The value of Chrome to Google comes down to a very simple element:
Advertising. Google’s business model is based on selling more
advertising every month. The more ad viewers (users), the better. Chrome
essentially locks users into using Google search and related services,
which secures Google’s core business. If Chrome is successful, Google is
successful. Every improvement in Chrome can be broken down to the
purpose of making Chrome work extremely well with Google’s products and
making it easy for users of other browsers to switch, while providing
services that makes it look silly to switch back to something else: If
Chrome is updated so frequently and automatically, why would you use
another browser? The formula still works as Chrome will be breaking the
29% (desktop) market share hurdle this month in StatCounter’s charts.
Chrome for Android has the same purpose: Users of Chrome for Android
are safe Google Search users and Adsense viewers. The more users browse
with Chrome, the better for Google’s revenue base.
Chrome for Android: What Works
The new browser arrives with a pitch that promises greater speed,
simplicity and sync. I will get to speed and simplicity below, and focus
on sync first. Synchronization of browsing data is the single most
important feature of Chrome for Android. You can take all your open
bookmarks, saved bookmarks, browsing history and settings from your
desktop and seamlessly use them in the same way on your smartphone and
tablet. It is a feature we have been waiting for and it’s good to know
that the wait is over (for some). Mozilla is still trying to figure out
Sync for Firefox Mobile, but is still using a way too complicated
process. Mozilla had an advantage for about half a year and an
opportunity to fix its synchronization implementation, but it seems that
Google is now taking the lead.
Unfortunately, for Google, that is the only good news.
Chrome for Android: What Needs Work
There are several problems with Chrome for Android. Lack of
differentiators may be the least of them. Honestly, do we care about
speed? Today, available 4G connection represent a much greater impact on
browsing speed than JavaScript implementations or the availability of
hardware acceleration. Simplicity is also a somewhat questionable
benefit as I personally find Firefox’ swiping interface much more useful
and its tab display much more user friendly than the implementation in
Chrome for Android.
A more significant problem is availability of the browser (app).
Chrome for Android only works on Ice Cream Sandwich and is compatible
with only about 1% of Android devices out there. Google’s decision may
be related to the fact that the developers have chosen to use a native
GUI that requires Android 4.0 as supporting structure, but this
limitation is clearly a letdown. And there is no hope for this situation
to change: Chrome will only run on Android 4 and up. Period. Even if
this is just a beta app as of now, the fragmentation of Android is a
problem and will sooner or later become a serious pain in the neck for
Google if it wants to roll out software that simply does not support
potentially four or five older Android OS versions that are still
popular.
Also, Chrome for Android will raise, once again, questions why there is a need for Chrome OS and
Android. The Chrome browser will become the fabric that ties together
Chrome OS cloud computers, desktop and notebook PCs as well as Android
phones and tablets. However, these are two different platforms and it
may have been a smarter move for Google to either develop Android as a
desktop OS for entry level computers or use Chrome as an underlying
HTML5 processing platform for its phones. Chrome for Android will
somewhat help Chrome OS computers, tablets and smartphones grow
together, but there will always be an awkward hurdle between Android and
Chrome that simply does not exist with Apple’s iOS and Microsoft
Windows platform (Windows Phone 8 will use the Windows 8 core). That
problem may be more amplified if we remember how often we really use a
browser on a tablet and a smartphone. Market research suggests that web
browsing represents only 10% of the app usage time on a smartphone. It
may be slightly higher on a tablet, but there is no denying that phones
and tablets are app platforms and not suited to run a web browser in a
way notebooks and desktop PCs do. In a way, Chrome for Android is just
an app that you will use if you have to browse the web.
The bottom line: Room to grow
Sync is a killer feature for mobile browsers and Google is lucky that
Mozilla wasted time and has not figured out how to make syncing
bookmark data and other user information in a more convenient way. This
feature alone will help the browser to become the standard browser on
Android devices. However, the rollout will take quite a while as only
Android 4 and up is supported. Mozilla and Opera still have an
opportunity to play ball and compete.
Wolfgang Gruener in Products on February 08
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