Google OS Coming Out of Beta

Google’s Chrome Web browser is really an operating system in disguise. Google’s ambition is to build an ecosystem that uses Chrome and Google Gears in a world of HTML and javascript. The key to Google building critical mass behind this effort will be to get broad and pervasive distribution of the Chrome browser. To do this they are going to need to pre-install it on OEM machines. Google is finding out that no OEM on the planet will ship anything that is still in beta. Last time I checked Gmail is still in beta after 4 years.

Google’s Chrome Web browser (aka Google OS) is coming out of beta testing according to a TechCrunch report. Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president of user experience, told TechCruch’s Michael Arrington that it would be coming out of beta soon but no date was given.

Google’s strategy with Chrome is puzzling in many ways. Firefox is an open source Web browser with just over 20% market share world wide. Google is a big financial contributor to the Mozilla organization that builds Firefox. Yet Google takes an approach that makes them start at a base of zero and directly compete with one of their biggest partners. More fragmentation will make it far more difficult to galvanize the developer community around a platform. Google will have a long uphill battle to fight on this one.

Google Looks At Paying For Chrome Distribution

Google (GOOG) is reportedly thinking about doing deals with PC makers to have its Chrome Browser pre-installed on new computers. This is not going to come cheap. PC makers have created a multi billion dollar business out of charging companies to pre-install software on new PCs. If Google does these kinds of pay to play deals, they will certainly bundle other services and software into the deal, most notably the Google Toolbar, Gmail, and Google Apps.

According to a report in The Times, Google will likely start working those deals after it pulls the “beta” label from Chrome in early 2009. This will definitely up the ante on the browser wars. This is a battle that for many has been long over since Microsoft decimated Netscape in the 90s. Even with Firefox eroding some of Microsoft Internet Explorer’s market share the war seemed to be long over. But Google seems to be taking another shot at it and have plenty of resources to pay for disribution. Lets see how long Google is committed to the browser business. If its anything like Lively, Chrome will be killed before the end of the year.