What does Google Chrome need to be a #1 browser?

[Tropical Island]

I tried Chrome when it first came out & after a couple of days went back to FireFox.

I have now started using it again on a daily basis.

There are lots of things I like however here is what I really miss:

1) I really miss the G toolbar with it's links to images, news, etc. Never really realized how much I used it until I didn't have it.

2) I really miss my FF Adsense updater.

3) Why can't I delete recent bookmarks from the "most recent" tab? It allows me to delete cache & browsing history .

4) I can delete all cookies however I can't delete selected ones without going through the list. I want my bank, e-mail & other log-in cookies but not the hundreds of others. The only choice I have is to accept all or block all. Not very user friendly.

5) The way the favorites list works is labor intensive. With FF you open a folder & it stays open while you use it. With Chrome you have to re-open it every time you go to a new link. Really annoying.

I would be interested to hear what others think.

[Quadrille]

What does Google Chrome need to be a #1 browser?

Five years, if they don't lose interest.

For the foreseeable future, Chrome is not enough. I use it most of the time, but still need FF for some 'work' functions.

The success of Chrome will depend on which route they take: will they keep it 'lite' with optional addons (many if those you mention and more), or will they 'go conventional', aiming to provide a full-feature browser to compete head on with IE and FF?

I hope they stay lite. Most of the reasons I like chrome is it's speed and general 'niftiness'. FF and IE will continue to advance (albeit slower), so we don't need another player in that market. Plus Google supports FF, so Google doesn't need their own entrant in that sector of the market.

According to various Google blogs, they are still committed to Chrome, so we'll know their general direction soon - once they've released the Mac and Linux versions, we'll start to see the next steps ...

It's the same as the "Google Docs" issue; few people need full-feature word processors and spreadsheets for most of the time (I use about 3% of Word functions), but however good the Lite versions are, they will not, ever, remove the need for the full-feature software for some people, some of the time, and would be pretty silly to try. Doesn't mean they won't, of course.

[edited by: Quadrille at 11:31 am (utc) on Oct. 12, 2008]

[netchicken1]

FF speeddial would do it for me, oh,and colorful tabs.

[tedster]

I have a great dislike for the combined address and search box, so I'm not likely to adopt Chrome as my main browser unless it goes to a dedicated addresss box (and there's little chance that will happen, I'd say).

[wrgvt]

I didn't like the merging of the address bar and search function at first, but I've grown accustomed to it and don't mind it at all now. In fact, I've used Firefox and typed the search terms into the address bar.

Chrome has become my default browser, especially at home where I'm still on dialup (any year now my little corner of the world will get broadband and cell phone service - before you ask, I'm in the US). Speed is Chrome's best feature. I used IE the other day for something on my dialup connection and nearly died waiting for it to load.

I do wish Chrome had autofill, though.

[skipfactor]

>>In fact, I've used Firefox and typed the search terms into the address bar.

Same here, got me. When the team described it as "magic bar" or something at the launch presentation, I snickered. It's now by far my favorite thing about Chrome, and I miss its 'intelligence' on other browsers. I could live without the search functionality (would be nice to be able to disable it) but the url recall works better for my lazy fingers than any.

[Quadrille]

Remember it 'learns', so a few uses probably isn't doing it justice.

Autofill? Me too!