Email | Print    Type Size  -  +

Why Google launched Chrome

New features in rival browsers threatened Google's search business.

By Scott Moritz, writer
Last Updated: September 3, 2008: 10:37 AM EDT

moritz_GOOGLE_graphic.gif

(Fortune) -- Subtle shifts in the search war ignited the full-blown browser battle between Google and Microsoft.

Google's launch Tuesday of its Chrome Web browser is seen as the search giant's latest assault on Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500). The company has been developing Chrome for two years, but the timing of its jump into the browser wars is probably no coincidence given two seemingly small features recently offered by the latest browsers from Microsoft and Mozilla.

Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft's most recent update to its browser, lets people navigate the Net while hiding their Internet address and viewing history - sometimes called "porn mode."

While this privacy feature isn't exactly new to the browsing world, it is the first time Microsoft has offered it. And given that Microsoft has 72% of the browser market, that move is seen as a significant threat to Google, which attempts to pinpoint its search results to a user's interests.

"Google Chrome is partly a defensive move as Microsoft is incorporating functionality in new browsers that may block the collection of ad targeting information," Stifel Nicolaus analyst George Askew wrote in a note Tuesday.

Blocking, tackling

For Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) and Microsoft, the browser is the virtual box office of Internet search revenue. Searches create hits and hits create context and ultimately clicks. This is the big money flow in Google's $16.5 billion annual revenue stream.

Getting blocked from user information is certainly a critical turn for the search industry, but a recent move by Mozilla's Firefox goes even further by circumventing the search process all together.

In Firefox, users type a Web address, or URL, in the address box. With each letter typed the browser offers to complete the process by showing a list of sites the person has visited that correspond with the fragment of the word. For example, you want to go to Wikipedia and your first suggested destinations are Weather.com or Nintendo's Wii.

Some analysts predict it's only a matter of time before this auto-complete feature is added to Internet Explorer.

Google has been working on a browser for about two years, but, according to analysts, the company hadn't felt compelled to introduce it to the world. It's telling, given the squeeze in the search business and the competitive moves by the two browser giants, that Google would bring out Chrome now. To top of page

Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More
Sponsors

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.