On Tuesday, Google joined the browser game by launching its very own browser, Chrome, to positive accolades and a bit of controversy. The free browser, which is currently only available for Windows, caused not only a media storm, but a blog storm as well, from nearly every corner of the globe. The Middle East and North African blogosphere, always quick to react to big stories, immediately began buzzing about Chrome yesterday, and haven't stopped since.

The Fans

The vast majority of bloggers love the browser, at least so far. iKuwait‘s enthusiasm about Chrome just keeps building:

i can get used to this, click on the picture to find out more about Chrome.
i even love the icon
update: you guys must try this, its just perfect, i finally found my soul browser (soul mate browser)

Also from Kuwait, SOME contrast thinks Google made a smart move:

As the title suggest, google made a browser. Smart move, google. They said in their introduction that since everything we do online nowadays is within a browser; emails, chat, sites..etc. then they might as well make their own browser and build it from a scratch.

Tunisian blogger Subzero Blue, also a clear fan of the product, explains its interface:

The browser uses the WebKit rendering engine, the V8 JavaScript Virtual Machine, an optimized approach to tabs, a homepage presenting most visited websites, and a number of security and privacy options; in addition to other interesting features.

I think this is a really promising product from Google; and I can't wait to see where they take it, and what it will do for web apps.

Also from Tunisia, Au Monde des Merveilles [fr] is impressed:

Après avoir testé Google Chrome, je conclus qu’il est le seul vrai concurrent de Firefox.

After testing Google Chrome, I conclude that it is the only true competitor to Firefox.

The Critics

Other bloggers have concerns about Chrome. Moroccan tech blogger Thinkervine notes its issues:

My first thoughts on the browser: light and fast, sober and user friendly. But it still has a lot of improvements to get before maturity. Still lot of bugs (javascript and SSL/Certificates handling), still missing lot of options (Java VM, extentions and theming, bookmark organization, own proxy management, RSS,).

The blogger concludes:

I will be waiting for the next betas in order to see how it improves but it is still far from being mature enough to replace Firefox as my default browser.

From Qatar, AmmarTalk [ar] lists concerns about the browser. A few:

2- عدم دعم Google Chrome لخاصية الملخصات أو rss feed.
3- هناك العديد من الاخطاء الإملائية لدى فريق الترجمه بشرح مزايا المتصفح وأقصد الشرح الذي نزل على ملفات فيديو بصفحة تنزيل البرنامج.
4- فكرة التسويق عن طريق قصة جميلة جداً لكن أعتقد أن المتصفح يجب ان يسهل مواصفاته للمستخدم العادي بوضع صور توضيحيه لا الإطاله بقصة ابتكرت طريقاً في التسويق ونست أن المتصفح قد لايكمل مشوار القراءة.

2- Google Chrome does not support rss feed.
3. There are a lot of spelling mistakes made by the translation team explaining the browser's features and I mean here the explanation about downloading videos
4. The idea of marketing it through a story is a lovely idea but I believe that the browser's features should be clearly illustrated to the user – and not through a marketing story which the user may not read to the end.

Jordanian Bakkouz likes Chrome but has a few reservations:

However, Google chrome does need a little getting used to, the interface is very simplistic to the point that it can get a little bit confusing, for example, the “Home” button is by default removed from the U.I, and you’d have to go into settings and add it manually. Another thing that might be confusing to beginners and new users is the absence of the traditional menu bar altogether (file – view – edit – tools, etc…). Another thing is the lack of a drop-down bar for the last visited websites, Chrome compensates that by the use of the auto-completion feature that will automatically try to complete the URL you’re trying to get to once you type in the first few letters, but still this could be somewhat of a nuisance.

For more reviews on Chrome outside of the mainstream media, one must only point one's browser to Palestinian blogger Memories Documented (a definite fan), who shares a smattering of reviews from around the globe and proclaims:

I am totally in love with Chrome, in fact, it has replaced all my other browsers as my #1 browser. I'm already using it alone on all my machines