Google Chrome : more open source, less open space ?

Enough piggybacking on IE, Firefox, Safari, Opera & Co : Google Chrome beta for Windows is launched tomorrow (see "Fresh take on browser" on the Google blog).

What can be said of it ?
- many things that could have been guessed : Chrome is based on Open Source, suggests websites, and leverages on browsing history...
- some non-disruptive user friendly innovations : Google Chrome puts the tabs on top of the search box, allows to split tab series
- the brand is a disaster. Chrome is about showing off, not about substance. More SUV than Prius. A heavy leaded browser rather than an agile tool. The only comic part of the comic book released as a teaser : don't worry, there won't be too much Chrome. To kill a mockingbird ?

Last week, IE8 Beta announced an intimate space for the user. Today, Google suddenly shrunk our Google-free space.

More than IE, Chrome threatens other competitors, and first of all the main innovator Firefox / Mozilla. This new Google platform is less likely to boost diversity than to endanger it.