Feature – We have had three days to digest Google’s take on the future web browser. We took it through its paces, found bugs, hidden folders and lots of irregularities that you would expect to see in any beta software. We have read lots of opinions – how great and how bad Chrome is, some even suggested it shouldn’t get the name of a polished product, but should be called “Rust” instead. But if we take a step back, it is clear that Chrome isn’t entirely black and white. That of course means that the company sparked some ideas, but will have to adjust the browser as well. We published an article on what is great about Chrome earlier and finish the week with what we believe needs to be changed.


Let’s get right to it. Chrome lacks basic functionality we have come to expect and most of us probably miss in this new browser (or mini OS, depending on your view.) We do understand Google’s approach and intent to come up with something new, but not everything old is bad either. Expecting users who are familiar with IE and Firefox to readily accept a Spartan Chrome interface may not be the best strategy. Disruptive products need to be convincing and we just don’t feel that Chrome is convincing enough, yet. In that case, we would hope that Google would offer a transitional approach with options and choice.  


Here is what we would fix first.


Problem 1: The disruptive UI doesn't appeal to everyone

Design is a matter of taste, we got it. And Chrome’s UI appears to be dividing. There are some who find it plain ugly and others who claim it has the striking elegance of an Apple interface. No matter where you stand, it is a disruptive change from the overloaded interface we've had so far in browsers. It is about as minimalistic in design as it can get. And it seems that those who don't really care about the Google layout anyway, don't care for Chrome’s design either.

We also noticed that especially novice users may have difficulties with the rough UI. Conservative geeks in particular seem to find the new UI controversial. If you want your menus accessible at the window's top and enjoy load of buttons in UI, you'll have a hard time navigating in Chrome.

A great example is the apparent lack of the home button. Now, most people told us they don't miss it since their home was set to google.com anyway. Since the new address bar enables them to search directly, the home button is redundant for them. Wolfgang, our managing editor and a die-hard PC guy (guess you wouldn’t believe this after this article), for example, wants the home button since he is used to the possibility to have a consistent start page. Being a Mac guy, I want my UI clean and crisp, I am happy it isn't there. But guess what - home button does exist in Chrome and it can be turned on in application's settings. From what we have heard, most people are unaware of the setting, and we are still a bit puzzled that we did not see this option in our first review.

The intelligent address bar is another great example of a rather controversial UI design. How would a novice user find out that the address bar doubles as a search bar? By accident? Seriously, in some way, switching to Chrome feels more extreme than switching from a PC to Mac. Most users will switch to Mac for the simplicity, inviting environment and great UI but many geeks will steer away because OS X has windows with no menus attached to them. Chrome can win over such users if it includes legacy settings to ease the transition - like optional menus, a default home button and a more traditional window design.


Problem 2: Scarce bookmarking options, lack of online syncing

Chrome's bookmarking features are scarce by any measure. It feels like someone just stuffed this feature in there in the last minute. At this time it is hardly appealing even to novice users. You can't assign keywords and labels to bookmarks and you can't sync them with the cloud either. If Chrome wasn't developed by Google we would be ready to close one eye on the latter omission. All you can do is file a bookmark by clicking on the star icon in the address bar, revealing a Firefox-style mini-menu with options to name, remove, or save a bookmark into a folder. Novice users can make a terrible mistake by deleting the folder because that deletes all bookmarks contained in it.

If you file a bookmark outside of folder, it appears in the bookmark bar below the toolbar. The number of bookmarks in the bookmark bar is limited to the window's width. The "Other bookmarks" folder found on the rightmost of the bookmark bar serves as the place to keep the remaining bookmarks. Our conclusion: Underwhelming, even for a beta.

Read on the next page: A sad download manager, security and privacy