Testing Google’s Chrome browser for Mac

13th December, 2009 by adina
Tags: Browser, Chrome, Google, News, Software

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Google has released the beta version of the Chrome browser for use on the Mac platform, the Windows variant already having a year of availability. The open source software is meant to compete with other browsers like Firefox and Safari. This latest release offers many of the features of the Windows version, but the earlier Mac beta lacks some of the capabilities.

Chrome can import settings, browsing history and bookmarks from other browsers, such as Firefox and Safari. Users that work frequently with multiple browsers might be frustrated by the lack of bookmark sync and by the lack of a bookmark manager. Both features may not be missed by casual users. The standard gray layout of the Chrome browser can be replaced with another from a series of specialized themes sporting unique colour schemes and backgrounds.

The Mac version, compared to the Windows browser, lacks the Task Manager feature to view the memory usage of each page. There are also other unsupported features like multi-touch gestures, full-screen mode and Gears.

The beta version for Mac features Google’s “Incognito Window”, which offers a separate area to browse without the pages and cookies showing in the main history or in the search history. At the same time, Chrome goes on with logging the history for any pages that are visited in the primary window.

Like the Windows version of the browser, the Mac version “sandboxes” each tab. When isolating the processes, the browser can maintain operation even if a single tab crashes or freezes. The architecture is also believed to protect against memory problems. This latest feature is useful especially for users working with a large number of tabs. Chrome does not seem to work so slowly as Firefox when heavily used.

The Omnibox address bar is another feature common to both versions. Users can enter search terms or web addresses into the Omnibox bar, instead of first navigating to the search engine page. Users are allowed to partially write the address and press enter without performing the extra step of hitting the down arrow, thanks to the auto-fill function.

Google preferred to focus on performance and reliability rather than implementing the whole set of features. Although some users could be disappointed by the lack of certain features, benchmark tests show that Google succeeded to bring the browser at the level of its competitors.

The tests were performed using a 17-inch MacBook Pro equipped with a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and running Mac OS X 10.5.7 Leopard. Chrome was compared to Safari 4.0.4 and Firefox 3.5.5. Chrome completed the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark tests in 485ms, slightly better than Safari with a 506ms score and far much better than Firefox that needed 1,145ms to complete the same tests.

Performing the Celtic Kane’s JSBenchmark tests has lead to similar results, Chrome being ranked first with an average score of 437. Safari went second with a score of 407, while Firefox was again third with an average score of 158.

Futuremark’s Peacekeeper benchmarks, however, showed a slightly different result, as Safari was this time ranked first with a score of 3887, while Chrome had only 3470. Firefox was again ranked third with only 1840 points.

The Mac beta version still lacks a full set of features that were promised to be added by Google in the near future. However, the current version of the Chrome browser for Mac is a stoning choice for those users looking for a fast browser provided with basic functionality.

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