As many of you may have noticed, there have been a slew of internet browser updates within the last couple weeks. On March 8th, Google released Google Chrome 10. Shortly after, on March 14, the highly anticipated Internet Explorer 9 was released. About a week later, on March 22, Firefox 4 was released. Now that all the browsers have released new editions (Safari 5 was released on June 7, 2010), which one should you choose?
The article, “New browsers offer tons of improvements” from CNNMoney.com offers a great overview of which features the browsers have in common and which features are unique to each browser. The article also features a graph depicting the change in market share for internet browsers over the last 3 years.
What is the overall consensus?
Increased Speed
Nobody wants to wait more than a couple seconds for a webpage to load. All four browsers have made significant improvements in terms of speed.
Improved Privacy
From Google Chrome’s incognito mode to IE’s tracking protection, the three major browsers (excluding Safari at this point) have made major changes regarding users’ online privacy.
Synchronization
The newest version of both Chrome and Firefox have advanced synchronization features that allow users to sync browser settings and bookmarks with their mobile phones. Google has also made it possible to sync your browser settings and bookmarks with your Google account so that you can log into any Google Chrome browser in the World and sign-in to use your personal browser settings.
What is my personal opinion?
Since this is a blog, I figured I’d share my personal browser preferences with you all. I’ve used all of the browsers at one point or another but I prefer Google Chrome. Here’s my breakdown on each one:
Internet Explorer
I haven’t used internet explorer heavily in years because it was not very user friendly, slow and it lacked functionality. I still wanted to try the new version so I took IE9 for a test drive the other day. It was definitely an improvement from older versions but I wasn’t blow away by any means.
Firefox
I used Firefox before switching to Google Chrome about 10 months ago. It was taking up a lot of system resources and did not offer the speed and functionality of Google Chrome. I tried out FireFox 4 this morning and was impressed. It has definitely been influenced heavily by Google Chrome. I read some reports of it crashing already, however.
Safari
I work in the IT department of a 90% Mac company so I am definitely familiar with Safari and although it is not my browser of choice, it is very stable and fast. Safari’s last significant update was last June so be prepared for a very powerful next version after the Safari team at Apple takes their notes on the pros and cons of the recent updates.
Google Chrome
As I stated earlier, Google Chrome is my browser of choice. It is very fast, competitive with any of the other 3 browsers in terms of speed. I also like the look and feel of Google Chrome a lot. Remember, Google Chrome is built on Chromium which is the first browser based operating system. That means Google is trying to build an operating system that is powerful enough to be the only application necessary on a computer.
Another reason, and possibly the biggest reason for me personally, is that I use Google services all day long. I use Gmail, Google Docs and Google Analytics heavily. I find that when using Google operated services it is best to use a Google operated browser as well.
Let me know what browser you prefer and why in the comments section below!
