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Like its metallic namesake, Google's browser named Chrome attracted a lot of attention at first, then seemed to lose its shine and fall out of favor.  Still, Hitwise found a surprising side effect of Chrome's introduction, and Matt Cutts believes that it's solid in most fundamental senses.

We can start with Cutts's evaluation since he's had more time to play with the browser.  Speed is one of Chrome's main selling points, and for Cutts, Chrome's speed has been both reliable and impressive.  Its overall stability and security earned high marks, too.

 Chrome Sparks Interest In Other Google Products
(Credit Hitwise)

Then, on the subject of openness, he continued, "You aren't locked in to using Google's search; you can choose to use any major search engine in Google Chrome.  Plus, as you click around the web, you don't send surfing information to Google.  Google Chrome is open-source under a BSD license, so you can check that for yourself.  The cool bits of Google Chrome, including V8 (a from-the-ground-up JavaScript virtual machine), are open for anyone to take and use."

And this seems as good a segue as any to the Hitwise data.  Most of it shows what you'd expect: a quick rise, a high peak, and a fast fall.  However, Alan Long added, "[T]he other recipient of visits from the launch of Google Chrome was the Google Software Downloads page.  Google Software Downloads benefited across all markets, but while the Australia and New Zealand markets fell to pre Chrome launch share levels the Hong Kong and Singapore markets have sustained strong visitation share."

The Chinese, in particular, seem to have maintained an interest in Google's offerings long after they abandoned Chrome, and given how much Google values this market, the browser appears to have achieved one real victory.