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Google's Chrome surpasses Internet Explorer as the most used browser

ebenzunlimited

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What was the first web browser you ever used? Sure, a lot of you will say "Netscape Navigator," but we're willing to bet that most folks cut their teeth on Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser. After all, it's been the undisputed king of the hill for 14 years now. Undisputed, that is, until this month, when at least one web statistics firm started showing that Google Chrome has finally surpassed IE as the world's most popular browser.

According to Statcounter, both Google Chrome and Internet Explorer were responsible for about a third of May 2012 usage each. Mozilla Firefox is firmly in third place, with just over 25%.

To be sure, Statcounter's measurements lack laser-like precision, but the trend away from IE toward Chrome has been seen by virtually all analytics tools available. Internet Explorer had a virtual monopoly on browser usage in the early 2000s. But the 2004 release of Mozilla Firefox and the 2008 release of Chrome both proved to be major market share turning points ? in each year since, Microsoft IE has lost share to its competitors. And trend lines continue to point south.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser has long held the dominant position, owing much (all?) of its success to being the default browser on Windows PCs. A number of research firms and scattered, remnant data suggests that Internet Explorer first gained the number one position from Netscape Navigator sometime in 1998, and held it continuously until this month. Google Chrome's success relies, in part, due to the international market ? IE remains in the number one position in the United States and most other English-speaking nations.

[Image credit: brionv]
[via TheNextWeb]

(Source)  http://www.tecca.com/news/2012/05/21/googles-chrome-surpasses-interenet-explorer-as-the-most-used-browser/
 
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