Internet Explorer was my default browser in the late nineties, although I used Netscape equally. Then came Firefox, and for nearly 6-7 years I was hooked on to it. However, in 2008 I moved to Google’s Chrome and have not returned back since. Although, I missed the Firefox plugins in Chrome, the sheer usability factor of Chrome ensured that I stick with it. Recently, with the launch of Chrome Extensions even the problem of extended functionality has been resolved.
Though Chrome & Firefox both far better web browsers than Internet Explorer – In India, it commands maximum Market share. The good part however is that Internet Explorer browser market share is falling rapidly.
The main beneficiary from I.E’s fall is Chrome, while Firefox growth has been quite flat.
Web Browser Market Share
As per Statcounter Global stats, Internet Explorer’s Browser Market Share has fallen from 62.49% in Dec 2008 to 46.37% in August 2010 a fall of about 16.16 percentage points. Alternatively, Chrome which had just 3.92 market share in Dec 08 and risen to 17.4% and growth of about 13.48 percentage points.
Firefox on the other hand has been growing steadily – From 28.47% in Dec 08 to 32.66% in Aug 10. There is not really much to talk about other web browsers except probably Opera whose share has dropped to half since Dec 2008 to 2.57%.
This sure is a relief for web developers as I.E browser (especially I.E 6) is their big headache when it comes to making websites browser compliant.
Although, Internet Explorer is doing its best to revive its market share by releasing newer and feature rich browser versions (They are now on I.E 9), web users seem to be ditching them for more open and extensible browsers like Chrome and Firefox.
What do you think – Is I.E capable of grabbing the past glory of Internet Explorer?