14 DAY TRIAL // Google Chrome has solidified its position as the number two browser in the world, according to StatCounter's latest figures. Chrome pushed past Firefox a couple of weeks ago and the monthly market share for November puts Chrome on top for the very first time in history.
It has to be emphasized that this is data coming from just one source, but the trend, of Chrome catching up to Firefox is seen by everyone covering the web browser space.
"Chrome took 25.69% of the worldwide market (up from 4.66% in November 2009) compared to Firefox's 25.23%. Microsoft's Internet Explorer still maintains a strong lead globally with 40.63%," StatCounter announced.
This is hardly surprising to anyone, but it should serve as a warning to Mozilla, Firefox hasn't been able to gain any market share for a long time now.
"In the US Internet Explorer continues to perform strongly and is maintaining market share at 50.66%, up slightly from 50.24% year on year. Firefox retains second place on 20.09%, down from 26.75%. Chrome is up to 17.3% from 10.89%," StatCounter also said.
"In the UK, Internet Explorer also leads the market with 42.82%. Chrome is on 24.82%, having overtaken Firefox (20.56%) in July," it added.
The milestone is an important one, but it is mostly symbolic. Both Mozilla and Google knew that it was coming. Google Chrome has been adding a chunk of new users every month since it launched and its growth hasn't slowed down.
The fact that Google Continues to promote it and even advertises it on TV, something it has only done for search and more recently Google+, also helps.
Chrome does have several advantages over Firefox, but the gap has gotten smaller recently. Firefox 8 is comparable to Chrome in terms of speed and responsiveness, so Google has to find other ways of differentiating itself.
That said, having spent the past three years cultivating the image that it is the fastest browser around has paid off since in most people's minds, Chrome is the fastest one.