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Chrome has been in development since spring of 2006. It has been around much longer than it has been public.

Just a guess, but they may feel that having the beta label on a downloadable app tends to turn people off, whereas people don't mind beta web apps (its the norm and they won't screw up your system).

It could be something simple. It could be that the people who decide whether Gmail is a beta or not aren't the people who decide whether Chrome is a beta or not.

Because It is a desktop software, not a web application.