In early September, Google released a new Web browser called Google Chrome. The launch was accompanied with a well-received comic book that answers most of the basic questions: why do we need a new Web browser? What’s new about Google Chrome? And so on. It’s written for a general audience and I definitely recommend checking it out.

I’ve been using Chrome alongside Firefox for about two months now, and while I like its clean, functional austerity, the lack of advanced features will keep it from being the my primary choice for Web browsing. Bottom line, most people would not benefit by installing Chrome, with one exception: if your primary email account is at Gmail, then using Chrome as a secondary browser, dedicated to email, will yield an immediate and noticeable improvement. This is due to its significantly sped-up rendering engine for complicated Web apps, like Gmail (or Google Docs). More details after the jump for those who are interested…

The major downside is a big one: Chrome’s lack of Add-ons, in particular, ensures that Firefox will remain my primary Web browser. Of the eight or nine Firefox add-ons that I use regularly, at least four of them have become such an integral part of my browsing routine that losing them is a deal-breaker. Many other “power users” feel the same way, among them journalist (and tech geek/hobbyist) James Fallows:

After a week of using Chrome… I restate my original triage judgment with even more conviction. If you’re interested in software, by all means check it out. If you mainly want to get your work done, don’t bother — yet. For ordinary non-nerd civilian users, the improvement touches in Chrome are outweighed by the inconveniences. For instance: can’t use any of the numerous invaluable “extensions” for Firefox. And RSS feeds work poorly if at all.

Some other general first impressions:

• I never would have thought so, but placing the tabs above the taskbar is an instant UI win. It just looks and feels a lot nicer.
• Another great little touch is the shading in the URL bar — or the “Omnibox,” as Google calls it — as well as the ability to prepend “?” to turn it into a search bar. Suddenly, having two different toolbars for search and navigation (as in Firefox/IE) feels archaic.
• Tab switching is instantaneous in a way that it is not in IE or Firefox. This seems irrelevant, but contributes to the overall impression of the Chrome as faster and sleeker.
• The install process seamlessly imports Flash plug-in from Firefox or IE, so (i.e.) YouTube and Hulu work right away.
• The Task Manager feature is outstanding (accessible by right-clicking on the title bar). Check out the “Stats for nerds.”
• Finally, it’s hard to overstate the benefits of being able to create new desktop icons for Gmail and other Web apps (like Google Calendar, Google Docs, etc.), having them launch in their own streamlined application window. Accessing email through a tab has been an annoying kludge, since email and Web browsing are disparate functions.

The mere appearance of a new open source browser is exciting, even if the slick new Google Chrome is not yet ready to be a prime time player.