Tuesday, May 18, 2010

IE Sliding, Chrome Picking up the Slack

For the first time since 1999, Internet Explorer's share dipped below 60% in the internet browser market. Although Internet Explorer (59.95%) still has a considerable market share advantage over Mozilla Firefox (24.59%) and Google Chrome (6.73%), recent trends indicate it will continue to lose market share. According to data published by Net Applications, users are dropping IE6 and IE7 for other brands, rather than upgrading to the current IE8. And although IE8 continues to grow at a steady rate, it is simply unable to keep up with its predecessors’ losses.¹

The New Face in Town
Perhaps the most surprising development in the browser market has been Google Chrome’s rapid growth. Chrome, which Google released back in September 2008, gained .60 points in April and was the month’s biggest winner in the market share battle.² However, it remains to be seen if Chrome can unseat Firefox as the industry’s runner-up.

The Comeback Kid
With its current crop of browsers sliding, Microsoft is focusing on Internet Explorer 9 and its reputed performance improvements.³ Although IE9 is still several months away from public release, beta testers and curious parties can install its preview model here; (requires Windows Vista or later).

Will Internet Explorer make a comeback with IE9? Will you even use it? Have you ever tried Chrome?
Leave some comments below.


¹http://www.netmarketshare.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=0
²http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/05/chrome-continues-surge-as-ie-drops-below-60-market-share.ars
³http://www.conceivablytech.com/796/science-research/internet-explorer-falls-below-60-market-share/
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2 comments:

  1. JennyMay 18, 2010 at 5:40 PM

    I tried the beta chrome and it was alright, seemed to load pages faster than IE7. I use Firefox on a regular basis though - at home and at work. Seems whenever we finally get our library on the same Microsoft version of something (IE and Office esp.) they come out with a new version which MS recommends everyone migrate to.

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  2. Ryan SwenarMay 19, 2010 at 9:58 AM

    I started using Chrome at home about two weeks ago. I like its fresh, minimalistic design and quick loading times. It’s a great browser for web surfing, yet I’m still not convinced Chrome would be a good fit for me at the office. I currently use Firefox at work and find myself pretty satisfied with it.

    As for Internet Explorer, Microsoft knows it needs to inject some fresh blood into the market. IE9 could very well shake up the browser scene with its innovations, but what happens when Firefox and Chrome deploy the same sort of features and improve upon them? Also, I have yet to read anything that indicates IE9 will be available on Windows XP (still used by 64% of all computer users), which could result in an even greater loss in market share for Microsoft.

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