For some the entrance of Google Chrome Internet browser into the epic battle of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox was a bit surprising, but not for us well informed. No, for us it was more than obvious that if Google was going to get into the game of device operating systems with Google TV, Android Froyo for phones, and now Android Honeycomb for tablet. That in order for these devices to access all of the content Google brings to the browser. That they were going to have to build a browser that would work natively within the environment. A browser that could not only perform for Google Applications but was a fully functional browser that displayed third party add-ons like Flash, JavaScript and video. A Browser that continued Google’s open source model with the construction of the Chromium open source project allowing for it to be ported to any platform with unlimited growth potential.

It was from this project that Chrome was born and as an early adopter I have been using Google Chrome for a little over a year now. Where I have had my ups and downs with it. What I have found is that for the most part Chrome is an exceptional new choice for cruising your favorite web sites. If Chrome will not work on a particular website it is generally because it is the site that is blocking the action. Whether the site has been designed so that a particular browser is supported for their security protocol and Chrome is not on that list or the site utilizes a non-standardized application that lives outside the W3C. Some sites have and do still turn me away when I surf to them on Chrome.

So if Chrome is still developing then why is it gaining such dramatic market share? Well mainly because of the large influx of Google OS devices coming to market. Most people do not even know that they are using Chrome, and therein lies the genius. The user interface for Chrome takes in all the best of the other popular browsers and makes some very large improvements at the same time. It does exactly what it is supposed to do with minimal input from the user. Combining the Google auto-search into the address bar is a primary example of this. Even if I do not know what I am looking for I can usually hone in on it with about four keystrokes. Add-ons like “Chrome to Phone” are amazingly useful hijack tools. I don’t know how many times a day I run across a site I want to return to or show-off to someone and quickly in a single mouse click send the link to my phone for later use.  Great for anticipating a time when I may be on a different computer . An example would be, that restaurant web site that just may not be important enough for me to want to bookmark it for a one time need like the reservation line. I Chrome to phone the restaurant site, and can quickly pull up the site when the wife and I decide it is time for a night out.

Simple polished layout with hyper-functional elements make for a very versatile browser. Common functions such as Forward, Back, Refresh, Search, and new Tab are easy to locate and at the ready. Did any of you notice that these buttons are large enough for tactile use. (Someone is planning ahead for capacitive screens that are going to be larger than tablet size.) Convenience return links like bookmark manager, Personal apps, most visited, and recently viewed are all within a single click after launch but remove themselves after their usefulness has dissolved. Need them again? Just add a new tab.

Overall, the 9^th version of Google Chrome has many impressive features, and is quickly becoming my choice as a web site designer, and purveyor of anything Internet. Google has once again shown that it understands the user interface better than most and the importance of information at your finger tips. If you have not gotten the chance or should I say taken that leap yet to download Google Chrome.(download here) I highly recommend it. This is not exactly an unbiased opinion as I am completely impressed with this new product, but I can guarantee that my opinion is not paid for or solicited in any way. I am a genuine user, custom Internet application programmer, graphic designer and usability expert or information architect by trade and have chosen today to share my thoughts on Google Chrome, tomorrow it is sure to be something else.

Great blog post from Frog Design today regarding a recent "work hop" that I wish I would have been able to attend. Its subject was “Designing Hijack-able User Experiences” and nothing could be more true of today’s online marketplace.

Only the great apps allow you to connect with the other great apps.

If a user can take your online environment and make it their own then they have a much greater return rate than if they leave nothing personal behind.

Then the online environment has to have the where withal to reach out and remind that user that they have a personal space and that space would be better if they gave it a “bit of love”. It is on their return that you then begin to see that relationship grow, and as it does the environment freely shares with others how important that relationship really is.

The next and final step is the entrance of jealousy into that relationship. When others from another platform reach out to tell your user how lucky they are to be with you and how much they wish they could be like just like them. The initial experience was free so of course they can and it is then that the relationship is solidified.

Social networking is not an enigma. It is dating, courting complete with gifts, listening and sweet talk. Many don’t scope the whole picture and struggle with how to improve on the model that is nothing more than basic human interaction.

Please check out the blog post here: http://designmind.frogdesign.com/blog/designing-for-a-user-hijacked-world.html?

It has become very evident to me over the past 15 years growing as a developer of Internet web sites, corporate intranets, portals, eCommerce sites, extra-nets, custom Internet based business applications, mobile Internet sites and then in the past 3 years dabbling in mobile applications. That the importance of the device is very secondary to the language and operating system it is running on. This is no less important today as it was 15 years ago. While servers have evolved and laptops have taken over mobile devices have really made a dent, but none could have made that first step without support of the OS and language. If security protocols had not moved forward, hash encryption and application tiering not been developed then none of this mobile Internet would be here today. I know BORING! But stay with me I am getting to my point.

The Target

The point is that the tablet device had a target. A target that for the most part has been 15 years in the making with secure mobile Internet communications. A target that was very clearly defined by Steve Jobs on the day he released the iPad. Jobs saw a gap in the market between the very popular iPhone, and the Apple line of laptops. The iPad was going to be larger and just as responsive as his iPhone, and easier to use and cheaper than the Apple laptop. History shows it as Steve Jobs had an epiphany and he delivered once again. He gave us the iPad and in doing so defined the minimum requirements for the tablet device.

The Lost Direction

Jobs also gave us developers, network engineers and OS gurus nowhere to go. We either had to relearn 15 years of best practice and join the Apple development core or continue to work in what has seemingly become a bunch of sanskrit…  a plethera of dead or dying languages. Forget Java, C# and php that hand in hand delivered Amazon, and Overstock.com products to your door with a single click and Free shipping. Forget VPN services built so that you can securely work from your home in the comfort of your PJs. Forget real-time targeted marketing where you select an item, and you instantly get bombarded with what other people with similar orders have bought. No, step aside, build your applications on an Apple laptop, in Apple development platform, with Apple languages and submit them to Apple for posting on the Apple store. This is the world according to Steve Jobs and this is the world if we all go Apple iPad, iPhone, and Apple laptop. A bit of a fantasy even for us dreamers.

Google and Android Honeycomb has changed all of that. The world doesn’t know it yet but the war of the tablet OS is over and Google has won all battles without firing a single shot. Google knew exactly what Jobs and Apple knew about the past 15 years. They were both there for the entire ride. Google needed only to release Android Honeycomb to win the war. It has nothing to do with speed, or pretty graphics, or even hundreds of thousands of apps.

It has everything to do with one app. The one that every developer knows “Hello World!”. A custom application developer can build it on their Windows laptop, in their favorite Java language, and upload it directly and run it on any Android phone, or now Android tablet. Game, Set, Match! Multi-platforms playing together no monitoring from the manufacturer of the device.

The Tablet of Tomorrow

So let’s get back to the target market of the tablet. Jobs did deliver he gave us a cool tool that does what the masses want it to do but just like every other Apple product he priced it just outside the range of reasonable. It does everything he said it would and it is priced appropriately for an Apple product, but let’s face it Apple products are stylish, expensive and are not really the choice of a large company looking to mobilize the entire staff. Steve did not say anything about business the day he released the iPad. Think back he was right between iPhone and Apple laptop. (I know some of you savvy graphic companies have outfitted in Apple products, but we are talking cost savings here, not appearance.) The iPad is still more expensive than a fully functional Windows laptop.

The target was clear, and anyone besides Jobs and Apple should be aiming for the defined target, not at the iPad. The target was a gap between the very popular {insert name of non-Apple phone here}, and the {insert name of non-Apple laptop here} line of laptops. Almost all Android Honeycomb device makers are aimed at out doing the iPad, when they should be aimed at building the gap product. The Samsung Galaxy Tab was the first Android tablet device an d Motorola XOOM next week will be the first Android Honeycomb device to hit the American market. Both have excellent devices to share with the public that are more impressive than the highest end mobile phones including iPhone. The problem is that they are not meeting the other end of their target of being cheaper than the average laptop.

Motorola just announced XOOM North American pricing today of $799 for the mobile version and $600 for the wifi only model. Considering the fact that a full sized laptop with 20 times the memory, a business tested OS, wifi, mobile, 15” monitor, camera, key board, DVD-RW drive and Bluetooth is available for less than $500. These device makers like Motorola and Samsung are way off the target.

The Future

Developers like myself with several years of best practices are poised to make the tablet a very integral part of everyone’s lives by creating the home and business software that is required to mobilize the world and give Amazon and Overstock.com the ability bombard you with marketing messages on the go. To deliver to your current mobile location with Free shipping if needed. Google has paved the way for us to do so with open source architecture that will utilize all the security libraries previously created and the ability to do so from our preferred platform. The path through the hypothetical trees is so obvious that GPS is no longer needed. I predict that it will be very easy to take that next step along the road of technical evolution just as soon as the device makers are able to hit what should have been their intended target. Unfortunately they all seem to aiming for Apple iPad on Steve Jobs' head rather than a device that the masses will buy because there is a gap between their mobile phone and the laptop. Companies like Dell, HP, Sony, Acer, and Asus have also leaked rumors or made recent announcements of their new tablet like devices. Let’s hope that one of these companies can put a device with an OS and a price tag together that will fit the gap.

Of course you can't design Love, it is an uncontrollable force through which art is inspired. So the title of this first entry into my blog is a bit deceiving. But today is Valentine's Day, and Love takes top billing. My thoughts today are on a wonderful article I read on Design Festival (http://designfestival.com) today about the absolute most famous work of Milton Glaser. If you are unaware of who Glaser is you are probably not alone, but few have made such an impact in the world of design and love than this man. Using three capital letters and one heart shape Milton Glaser was able to create a symbol form logo mark that has all but defined American tourism since it's creation in 1976. Recognizable and understandable from a distance, and simple enough to transcend language barriers world wide. Milton Glaser's I♥NY has to be one of the best examples of the global impact that can be accomplished through good design. Please take a few minutes this Valentine's Day to read Design Festival's article titled, "The Greatest Love Logo Of Them All: I♥NY" posted at : http://designfestival.com/the-greatest-love-logo-of-them-all-iny/

You may not be able to  design Love, but you sure can Love design. Happy Valentine's Day!