The Independent writes:

Bill Stewart, the internet historian and founder of livinginternet.com, said Google's image took a nosedive last week. "There has been a tremendous amount of goodwill for Google but the announcement of the browser is a tipping point.
"It indicates that they are out to dominate and are mimicking their worst enemy: Microsoft. There has been a change in sentiment. The goodwill has evaporated and turned to concern."

Google lacks a mass market device-based distribution platform. Android OS and the browser are designed to address this strategic hole. If Google succeed, they will be capable of tying people to Google's own "cloud" services. We are running a risk of one day waking up  inside a walled garden, where all information is packaged and presented to us by an advertisement giant, which Google has become. And it'll be as free, as free television.

A note from a system evolution perspective: the ultimate goal is a control point of the 3rd type ( pace of innovation). In this particular system, browser is a Tool; cloud services - Source; Internet - Distribution; application logic - Control; data + scripts - Payload. Google has a chance to tightly couple Tool, Source, Control, and Payload. That'll give them full control over the evolution of the system.