How many browsers can there be? One of the things holding back the mobile web world is the ridiculous number of browsers/platforms that have to be supported to reach the mobile user. So, Google’s Chrome looks pretty slick, although I’ve far from finished my test drive (this will be my first post written from Wordpress with the Google browser…) I’m sure every browser developer will go out of their way to make sure that their browser works on 99% of all typical sites, but startup web developers don’t have hundreds of highly paid developers sitting around to ensure that their sites are easily compatible with every browser. See the screen shot from my attempt to log into Wixi.com:
What about add-ins? As I think about all of the useful add-ons I’ve added to Firefox, I start to wonder if these developers, many of whom work for passion and not money, will have the time to also support Chrome. What will happen if half the developers support Chrome but the other half don’t? Will users switch browsers mid-task so that they can take advantage of functionality in different browsers??
That being said, I do think there is a potential market for task specific browsers. I have several browsers, and use them in different situations:
- IE7 - Generic web browsing… yes, I still use it. Sooner or later I guess I’ll upgrade to IE8. Why? Because it works on most sites and it’s easy. Why not?
- Firefox - When security matters, and also when I want to use one of my Firefox add-ons. I also felt cool using it.
- Chrome - Not sure when I’ll use it once the novelty wears off, but I like it so far. We’ll see if it takes over the Firefox slot in my usage list…
- NewsGator FeedDemon - Does this count as a browser? Since I use it to get to blog web pages, I’ll say yes. And I’ll continue to use it because moving over my 60+ subscriptions sounds just as fun as cleaning out my sock drawer.
- Songbird - When I’m looking for music or movies. If you haven’t checked out Songbird then you should (note that Atlas is an investor in the company.)
Do I need other browsers? Who knows, but I’m willing to try. Do startup developers need other browsers? I don’t think so.
Curious to hear your thoughts!
