While Google’s Chrome is a nice looking product– it hasn’t gained much traction to date– recent reports state that as of last week, the new product has gained less than 1 percent market share– and was actually contracting in usage over the last 10 days as people go back to using IE and Firefox.
It is very hard to get consumers to change their muscle memory– as I noted– I don’t think Google has been very successful in launching next generation twists on old services ala Instant Messaging, a browser– and I would even argue email and mapping– directions compared to entrenched competitors.
I guess you were right, Ted. Can’t argue with stats…
Ted,
It’s a beta. People are going back (myself included) because certain things don’t work right yet. Chrome is not an old service with a new twist. Combined with Google Gears, Chrome is a framework to run applications in. Except, you don’t have to install these apps (like you would now) you just surf to them on the web. It is a step toward eliminating Microsoft and changing the way users run applications. Now Google doesn’t necessarily need to lead the browser market, but they DO have a vested interest in where that market is going. You are right when you say Chrome isn’t all it has been cracked up to be. But it is pushing everyone else in the right direction, and hey, it’s a beta. Let’s see what happens to their market share after they release a GA product.