Browser War: Google Chrome V Microsoft IE

My How You’ve Chrome-d: Once Internet Explorer was king. But 2012 tells a very different story.
Since the arrival of a browser called Google Chrome in 2008, things are very different.

Chrome rules the roost, in some regions anyway, overtaking Microsoft’s IE dominance in May, although the former leader has fought back against Google’s might.

But by June, Chrome and IE were neck and neck each holding 32.49% of the market, while Mozilla Firefox is holding steady on 24.64%.

Irish web analytics firm, StatCounter, released a new video that illustrates the changing world map of browser usage over the four years, which has become far more “competitive” and shows by colour how Google’s browser overtook IE globally in May.

What were traditionally blue or Microsoft IE dominated countries have now rapidly gone red, illustrating Google Chrome’s invasion, with China and Brazil particularly endeared to Chrome.

Apple Safari is in fourth place with 7%, while Norway’s Opera has just 1% share of the browser market globally.

“When we began the StatCounter Global Stats project in 2008, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer dominated the global market,” says Aodhan Cullen, StatCounter CEO,

“There is much greater competition now.”

IE still leads in countries such as the US (37% share) and UK, but globally Chrome maintained a narrow lead.

Microsoft’s IE is not taking Chrome’s challenge lying down, says Cullen and from May-June, IE increased its usage share by less than one 1%, the first (monthly) increase since Oct/Nov 2011.

Chrome overtook IE in week 20 (14 – 20 May 2012), by  week 24 (11 – 17 June) Microsoft had staged a fight-back and was neck and neck with arch rival Chrome.

Not-for-profit Mozilla’s Firefox is also a real contender, Cullen added.

“The opening up of competition and greater choice can only be good news for users and help to create better browsers.”

StatCounter data is based on over 15 billion page views per month (4 billion from the US; 800 million from the UK) to StatCounter’s network of over three million websites.