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Industry Trends

Google To Market Chrome Strategically

By November 27, 2008July 30th, 20232 Comments

Now that the beta testing period for Google’s browser, Chrome, is due to end early next year, it is obvious that Google will do everything in their power to market their product and make it as popular as Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. If sources are to be believed, Google is planning to forge deals with various computer manufacturing firms, to pre-install Chrome on all their new personal computers, just as is currently being done for Internet explorer.

Sundar Pichai, Google V.P. Product Manager, said during an interview published in The Times, “We could work with an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and have them ship computers with Chrome pre-installed.”

According to Pichai, there is no reason why Google should not be able to do so, once they are satisfied that their product has no teething troubles and is ready for general use. They will then work hard to make their browser easily available and accessible to all users.

Pichai further adds, that newer versions of Chrome, which would be compatible with Linux and Mac computers will also be ready in the first half of next year, thus making it possible for Chrome to work on 99% of all computers.

Currently, however, there are still some flaws in the browser, as pointed out on ReadWriteWeb, and add ons that make Firefox so popular are absent from Chrome. Google should get to work seriously towards eliminating these issues.

If Google does manage to get Chrome preinstalled on all new computers at the time of shipping from the manufacturers, it could easily become the defacto browser for many of the users who currently use IE simply because it is the only browser their systems are shipped with.

An OEM relationship of this type, if correctly orchestrated by Google, could make Chrome a very dangerous competitor for IE and Firefox and could further seal Google’s future as the default search destination.

According to reports by GetClicky, Chrome accounts for under 2% of all web site visits at present. On the other hand, reports from Net Applications, show that Chrome holds only 0.74% of the market, as opposed to Internet Explorer’s 71.27%, Mozilla Firefox holds 19.97%, Safari holds 6.57% and Opera holds 0.75%.