Google Chrome.

The BETA version of "Google Chrome," Google's new Internet browser, hit the Download market only yesterday, and the Computer Heroes haven't wasted any time in experimenting on the young piece of software. Here's what we found out:

1. The Design.
The Design is actually very surprising. The window you are presented with is simple, no "File," "Edit," or "Tools" in sight. You simply see (From top to bottom) Your open Tabs. Your address bar. Your page. And that's it. The status bar is a temporary bar which loads up at the bottom when pages are loading, but disappears when it reaches 100%.

2. The Homepage.
Your Homepage, once again, is very simple. Rather than setting a homepage yourself, Google Chrome displays a "Most Visited" page, which shows you a list, with images of your most visited websites. Meaning you don't have to load up your homepage before getting to the site you really want. You also have a search bar at the right-hand side of the screen, meaning Google.com never has to be typed into your address bar again.

3. Searching
Searching websites is much easier than before with Google Chrome. The way Chrome searches is much different to any other browser. First, visit a website, such as Amazon.co.uk and search for an item of your choice. Now, close the tab and load a new one up, type the letter "A" into the address bar, hit the "Tab" button and voila! You can now search Amazon from your homepage.

4. Incognito.
Incognito is basically Chrome's version of what we usually call "Porn Mode." The idea is simple, you load up an Incognito page, search for whatever you feel like and let Chrome "FORGET" any sites you visit. This is a great tool for those of you who are maybe planning a surprise for a loved one, or simply doing something you shouldn't be.

5. Tabs.
The tabs, like in Firefox, are rearrangable, as you can drag and drop the tabs to different placements on the top bar. However, the difference Google have made is that you can also drag tabs into different windows, which Firefox was never capable of.

6. Passwords.
Even though it doesn't seem very impressive, the option for Chrome to save passwords is very simple, as it loads up a small toolbar at the top of the page asking if you would like it to save your details.

7. Downloads.
Unless you're using Firefox extensions, you will have noticed how annoying that little pop-up window is that shows the progress of your downloads. With Chrome, you don't need to update, install or add anything in order to get the download information on your status bar.

Speed and Performance.
Based on a recent Lifehacker post, the speed of Google Chrome is almost on par with that of Firefox. Google Chrome came an un-impressive last of three (Firefox, IE8, Chrome) when tested on a cold start-up, which was tested through simply rebooting the computer system, timing 2 minutes after start-up and loading the browser. Chrome took about half a second longer than IE8, and a womping second longer the Firefox. However, when tested on a warm start-up (after loading the browser and closing it twice) Chrome beat both competitors hands down. Finally, Kevin Purdy from the Lifehacker team compared the browsers performance against it's competitors through sheer usage, loading up pages and pages and timing how long it takes for all of the tabs to finish. Firefox came dead last, however IE8 and Chrome are too close to call. These tests landed Chrome the winner.

Tests were then made on the usage of Javascript and CSS. While IE8 falling last in pretty much all of this category, all that was compared really was the speed of Firefox and Chrome, who both showed off their strength, landing a tie between them. With Firefox winning on Javascript, but Chrome taking it back on CSS.

Although using more memory on start-up, Mozilla proved to be much more memory friendly than Chrome and IE8, with Chrome coming a well predicted second, and IE* falling below both browsers once again. The tests have basically tested everything that the user will see when using the browsers, and has labelled Firefox and Chrome pretty much the same.

Download Google Chrome BETA now.