Rumor: A WebKit-based GBrowser?

In the post The Google Browser from earlier this year, someone going
by the name “the Lizard” says that Google is developing its own,
WebKit-based browser. Lizard argues that it is strategically dangerous
to bet too much on just Firefox, which sends a lot of paid search
traffic to Google, and that this made Google start an internal project
in mid-2006 titled “GBrowser.”

According to the Lizard, GBrowser is built on top of the open source
WebKit browser framework, which was also used by Apple to create
Safari, and is also used for the browser of Google-initiated mobile
platform Android. “More than that,” the Lizard writes, GBrowser “will
offer integration with many Google services, such as Gmail, Google
Calendar, Blogger, and likely Google Talk.” Lizard continues:

“Rumblings of a Google browser have been carpeting the web for years,
but it wasn’t until 2006 that an entire team was actually committed to
working on what will become GBrowser.

Google, always known for iterating slowly on most of its projects, has
taken its time on GBrowser for a very good reason: it only has one
chance to get it right. Failing to succeed in its browser move means
rocky negotiations with a core partner, Mozilla, and could negatively
impact its financials in a significant manner. A move into the browser
market requires perfection, and GBrowser has undergone at least one
substantial rewrite and many major user-interface iterations.”

Lizard adds, “Mozilla knows GBrowser is coming and discusses it at
length internally.” And then, I heard another rumor that Google will
be creating a standard which allows the toolbar of GBrowser to change
when visiting certain sites – say, when you visit Google Docs you get
a special Docs toolbar. Now, I don’t know if there’s indeed such a
browser in the works, and have to file all of this under rumor until
further details are known… but thought it’s an interesting rumor
nevertheless. Once in May 2006, when Google CEO Eric Schmidt was asked
in a Q&A whether Google would consider building their own browser, he
replied “We would only do so…if we thought there was a real user
benefit.”

The original article can be found here: http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2008-06-10-n87.html