Why is Google's Chrome getting so much attention?

Net Application's data for April is out, and it shows that Google Chrome is the only browser making any real usage gains. Why?

By the end of April, Chrome had a usage share of 6.7%, gaining a 0.6% share. That might not seem like much, but it's the largest increase that the browser has seen since it was launched, and more than any of the other players can manage.

By comparison, Safari and Firefox can only manage to make tiny gains, while Opera lost a little ground, and Internet Explorer losing a bit more.

But what is it about Chrome that people like? Is it that's a lightweight browser, or the fact that it's pretty secure? Or maybe it's because of its minimalistic look and feel? Or the no-fuss way it updates itself? Is is that it's new? Is it because Google is pushing it hard through various channels?

It's hard to tell. Having spoken to a number of recent converts to Google Chrome, it seems that the minimalistic nature of the browser is certainly one attractive feature. Tech geeks aside, people are more interested in web content than they are the browser.

Looking at the current trends, I'm wondering if there's not a market for a "lite" version of the top browsers - Firefox would be the main candidate for the "lite" treatment. Rip out everything but the basics needed for browsing. Think it couldn't work? Don't be so sure! There doesn't seem to be a shortage of folks browsing the web on devices with tiny screens using very basic browsers.

... or maybe Chrome is all the "lite" browser people need ...

Net Applications measures operating system usage by tracking computers that visit the 40,000 sites monitored for clients, which represents a pool of about 160 million unique visitors each month. This data is then weighted based on the estimated size of each country’s Internet population.