Oct 20, 2010 18:18 GMT  ·  By

Forget Google Chrome 7.0 and 8.0, soon enough you will be able to test the ninth release of the open source browser. Google is gearing up to deliver yet another major version of its open source browser this year, namely Chrome 9.0, or at least to get early adopters a taste.

After all, the Mountain View-based search giant aims to keep its promise of launching a new Stable version of Chrome every six weeks, per the new accelerated release model, designed to bring fresh features to users as fast and as frequently as possible.

In this regard, Google Chrome 9.0 is already on the horizon, with testers getting the first bits next month.

“We're 41 days away from the branch point for mstone:9 and we have 1236 open bugs, at the time of this note,” revealed Anthony Laforge, Chrome Technical Program Manager.

“Given our open and close rates we will need to punt approximately 956 bugs in order to be ready for 9.0 which as a rule of thumb means 4 out of every 5 bugs we have needs to be moved out.

“Once we hit branch point only ReleaseBlock-* bugs will be accepted (i.e. crash, security, and bugs to disable features).”

Google might not be able to wrap up Chrome 9.0 by the end of 2010, but early adopters are sure to get a Chromium 9.0 build in the near future, followed by a Dev and perhaps even a Beta release of Chrome 8.0’s successor.

The Moutain View-based search giant launched the Stable version of Chrome 7.0 On October 19th, hot in the heels of Chrome 8.0 graduating to the Dev channel.

“Part of this new release cycle is a better focus on scope management, and tightly managing what goes into our releases will help to make us more predictable.

“I appreciate your help and patience as we transition to this new system. I realize that it's not without some discomfort, but you guys have done a great job thus far, and I trust that when we are past these initial bumps the road will be smoother,” LaForge added in a note to developers working on Chrome.

Google Chrome 7.0 Stable and Beta for Windows are available for download here.

Google Chrome 8.0 Dev for Windows is available for download here.