Google formally announced the project today, and according to Google, it combines increased security with a clean interface that's focused on long-term compatibility with online applications.
And that's the key: Compatibility with online applications. According to Google's illustrated users' guide to Chrome, online applications are slowly rendering most traditional web browsers obsolete.
Google argues that online applications use technologies based on code structures like Javascript and its close cousin AJAX, and web browsers currently can only run one type of code at a time. For example, if a browser is looking at an HTML page that employs a Javascript function, the browser has to let the Javascript code run its course before going back to the HTML.
Chrome will change that, Google says, and if the Internet giant can pull it off, they'll not only be able to compete with Microsoft's ubiquitous Internet Explorer, they might also be able to take aim at Microsoft's crown jewel: Windows.
Or at least that's what some analysts are saying, including noted tech writer Michael Arrington.
"Make no mistake – the cute comic book and the touchy-feely talk about user experience is little more than a coat of paint on top of a monumental hatred of Microsoft," he wrote on TechCrunch.com. “Chrome will give them a real foothold on the desktop and way more control over how web applications perform. While it seems that Chrome is aimed at [Internet Explorer] and Firefox, the target is really Windows."
The programming blog Hey Linux called Chrome an "open-source desktop," and Arrington agreed.
"Expect to see millions of web devices, even desktop web devices, in the coming years that completely strip out the Windows layer and use the browser as the only operating system the user needs," he wrote.
But will Google be able to compete with Internet Explorer and Windows, both of which come pre-installed on the vast majority of computers sold globally?
Perhaps. Online guru Brandon "Fight the Patent" told XBIZ that although Mozilla's Firefox has earned the respect – and the traffic – of the technically inclined, the browser still commands a minority share of the browser market.
But Google may be able to compete where Mozilla's Firefox browser couldn't.
"Google will need to push to the masses, which I can see them being able to do with YouTube and Google to get people to try and use their browser as the default," Shalton said.
The browser is available at Google.com/chrome.