Chrome World’s Most Popular Browser, Overtaking Internet Explorer

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Chrome World’s Most Popular Browser, Overtaking Internet Explorer

Google’s Chrome browser has overtaken Microsoft’s Internet Explorer to become the most used browser in the world.

James Joyner

May 21, 2012

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Google’s Chrome browser has overtaken Microsoft’s Internet Explorer to become the most used browser in the world.

The Next Web (“Google Chrome overtakes Internet Explorer as the Web’s most used browser“):

Google Chrome has been long expected to leapfrog Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) to take its position as the Web’s most used browser and, according to data from Statcounter, the momentous change of leadership happened last week.

The firm’s latest figures — spotted by Global Nerdy blogger Joey deVilla - show that Chrome’s line of usage creeped overtook IE’s for the first week ever, with Firefox, Safari and Opera completing the top five respectively.

Statcounter’s findings give Google a double win, after the analytics site found that its mobile browser — Android Robot — had leapfrogged Opera to become the most popular option for mobile-based Web surfers in March.

I’ve been using Chrome as my primary browser for quite some time, after finally getting tired of the declining performance of Firefox. This, despite constantly having issues with Chrome related to Shockwave Flash crashes.

I’m not surprised, then, that Chrome has caught on–it’s the least bad browser out there, at least for Windows machines, mostly because it’s more stripped down than its rivals. What’s slightly shocking to me is that, until now, Internet Explorer was still the top browser. It’s been years since it was my primary choice; indeed, I pretty much just keep it loaded on my machine in order to test Web pages in IE because pages written to comply with Internet standards often don’t work in IE, which plays by its own rules.

What’s maddening, though, is the sheer number of corporate sites–especially e-commerce sites–that are incompatible with Chrome. Over the weekend, I had an issue with Amazon and their rep told me to try the transaction in Firefox. Why they would optimize their site to the third most popular browser but not the first is beyond me.

10 responses to “Chrome World’s Most Popular Browser, Overtaking Internet Explorer”

Eric

May 21, 2012 at 11:08 am

I also have chrome as my primary browser on my macbook pro. It is the most stripped down browser (more-so than Firefox and Safari).

The reason IE was the most used in the world was because many of the computers in the world are Windows XP PC, which has IE already installed in them. Hell, Windows XP still has a sizable base in the world, with many current and new software still offered to XP users.
Doug Mataconis

May 21, 2012 at 11:50 am

I was an early convert to Firefox and it’s taken me awhile to make the switch to Chrome, partly because the transition of passwords was not nearly as seamless as I would’ve hoped it would be. Firefox has become stagnant and not nearly as fast or as stable as Chrome is at this point. I still use it occasionally but it would take a major upgrade by Mozilla to get me back full time.

As for IE, I don’t think I’ve touched it in years.
Brett

May 21, 2012 at 1:07 pm

I still like how Firefox makes it much easier to manage all your settings, bookmarks, and cookies. Chrome has never been quite that versatile, although it definitely is fast and probably more secure.

@Doug Mataconis

As for IE, I don’t think I’ve touched it in years.

I have to use it at work, for the reason Eric pointed out: the company I work for is still using Windows XP and IE for their computers and software. I never use it in my personal browsing, though, and haven’t used it for years.
Franklin

May 21, 2012 at 1:26 pm

I went from IE to Firefox to Chrome. Yup, Flash crashes occasionally but I don’t really remember contracting a virus since I started using it. (Purely anecdotal, especially since I’ve changed other things as well.)

It’s actually quite impressive that they’ve taken over, since IE is on most machines by default.
Ron Beasley

May 21, 2012 at 5:41 pm

@Doug Mataconis: Passwords – that’s the reason I have not made the switch from Firefox.
1. Doug Mataconis
  
  May 21, 2012 at 5:50 pm
  
  Ron,
  
  Honestly, I finally just gave in and took a Saturday when I had nothing to do and, with both Firefox and Chrome opened, did it manually. Fortunately, you can got into Firefox’s Security settings and there’s an option to show all your saved login and password info for the websites you’ve asked it to save the information for.
  
  The other thing that was holding me back for awhile was the fact that there weren’t as many good extensions for Chrome as there were for Firefox. That’s no longer the case. Pretty much every extension I relied on in Firefox has a Chrome version now, or there is an equivalent version that performs the same functions.
matt

May 21, 2012 at 6:56 pm

@Franklin: If you run the proper add ons then FIrefox on a windows 7 platform is just as secure as Chrome. Although on the OSx platform Chrome is easier to hack then firefox..
Ron Beasley

May 21, 2012 at 7:05 pm

@Doug Mataconis: Thanks Doug I didn’t know you display all the passwords. Do you know how to import bookmarks?
Ron Beasley

May 21, 2012 at 11:21 pm

@Ron Beasley: Never mind – I figured out how to import the bookmarks and you can import your passwords as well.
Christopher Bowen

May 22, 2012 at 2:51 pm

My transition to Chrome was rocky because of passwords as well, but now that it’s complete, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I open Firefox only when I have to, or when there’s a site that argues with Chrome’s version of Adblock Plus, which I use religiously (sorry, James).

As for corporations not getting with the Chrome program, I know and work with quite a few that still optimize for – and only for – Internet Explorer SIX.