Because of its speed and simplicity, Google Chrome has become the favorite browser of many PC users. I know it’s become my favorite when I’m on Windows. But Macheads were left out in the cold when it came to trying out that Google goodness when Chrome was first released.

Now, after more than a year of waiting, Google Chrome is being released for the Mac OS. Now I can download Chrome, install it on my Mac, run it and, WAIT! WHAT? It’s only for Mac OS 10.5 and later?!

So there’s a slight hitch to testing Google Chrome. I’d tested Crossover Chromium (an unofficial port of Chrome for Mac OSX) and found that a little too clunky for everyday use. Google Chrome for Mac installs only on Intel-based Mac’s running OSX 10.5 Leopard and OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard. So using a borrowed Mac Mini running Leopard and a Macbook running Snow Leopard, let me give you some of my first impressions on using Google Chrome on the Mac.

The minimalist interface is largely similar to the Windows version, with the tabs on top and the address bar below that. And that’s it. The rest of the window is your webpage.

The address bar is actually more than a place to type in your website’s URLs. Google calls it the OmniBox. With the OmniBox, you can also type in search terms and Chrome will display the results from google.com. This was a feature that I initially hated when I started using Chrome on Windows, but now I’ve actually grown to prefer it over using the separate search box of other browsers.

Chrome's baby blue trimming on the Windows version has been changed to the default gray of Mac OS. But if you’re really enamored by the original baby blue interface, or want another, funkier look, themes may be downloaded from Google or other websites.

Chrome on the Mac appears to be as fast as its Windows. The Manila Bulletin website loads quickly and admittedly looks great in Chrome. Other sites like Google, Yahoo, and Facebook look and feel just as spiffy. Videos from Youtube and other sites load and play as you would expect.

One great advantage of Chrome is the way it handles tabs. Since each tab is treated as a separate process, if one website hangs, that website won’t crash the entire browser.

That means you only need to close the tab containing the offending website and your other tabs can remain running. That’s a huge improvement from other browsers that will crash entirely and require a restart even if only one website hangs.

Chrome also features Incognito mode, similar to Safari’s Private Browsing mode. The difference with Chrome, though, is the ability to turn on/off Incognito mode in individual tabs.

Opening a new tab opens to a Speed Dial page, a feature originally seen in Opera browser and adopted later by Safari. The Speed Dial page opens thumbnails of frequently opened. Or you can bookmark or “pin” websites you choose and arrange them on the Speed Dial page for easy access later.

Google Chrome for Mac is still in Beta release and still does not allow for certain features, like the ability to install plug-ins like those for the Mozilla Firefox browser. Google Gears, that lets you open use a certain websites offline just like native applications, is also not yet available for Chrome for Mac.

Features and improvements already available on Chrome for Windows should become available soon for the Mac version.

Google Chrome for Mac is fast and efficient. I have not experienced any crashes yet. Even in Beta version, it should work as a basic browser for most people. But I do hope Google builds a version for Mac OSX 10.4 Tiger. At three-years-old, My iBook G4 runs OSX 10.4 Tiger is not THAT ancient, come on.