Google's Chrome browser has quickly vaulted itself into among the top browsers in the industry. First noted for its blazing speed, Chrome has eroded the dominance of Internet Explorer and Firefox. One of its most revolutionary features, however, is its development cycle.

To catch errors and bugs early, Google release a development version of its browser. Users can try the browser to test all of the latest features and additions to the browser; those looking for cutting-edge releases will be excited to try all of Chrome's updates before they are rolled into the stable edition. There are, however, a few drawbacks.

Those using the development version of Google Chrome are likely to run into bugs and stability issues along the way. Much of the new code is only minimally tested, and users are asked to share problems they have with the development team. In particular, Google wants software developers and programmers to try this version because they are more likely to share the detailed information that can help the development team. As a result, those who depend on Chrome for their day-to-day work may be better served using the stable version.

The development version may also be slower that the stable release. While the development version contains the optimizations Google is current working on, it also contains debugging code that can slow performance. This code is designed to give developers the feedback necessary to make improvements, and it is removed in the stable version to speed up performance.

Still, those who enjoy testing the latest developments may enjoy the Chrome development release. With regular updates and documentation on Google's blog, the development release breaks from the slow upgrade model that most are used to. Developers and programmers may enjoy playing a small role in the development of one of the most popular browsers in use today.