Posted by Calixte Pictet | 4 comments
Chrome’s Market Share Still Growing
I was a fan of Firefox some time ago. I really loved it; Firefox was all you could want in a browser. It was cross platform, meaning I could use it on my Ubuntu laptop, my parent’s Windows-based desktop and my grand-parent’s Mac OS-based PCs. Firefox was more expandable than a rubber band-and is becoming exponentially more so-but was easier to use than a broom (actually, I still haven’t mastered that one). Not surprisingly, it was extensions that were my favorite feature. making Firefox safer, faster, or simpler was just a matter of a quick search and a few clicks. Innovative features such as the Feedly home page started my day better than a coffee ever could, and my awesome toolbar notified me of everything that had happened over my sleep. These add-ons made Firefox more powerful than anything else out there.
I’ve been a fan of Google quite early on. It is one of these rare companies that seems to be constantly innovating, going forward and finding new ways to become even more useful (and make more money). I’ve been waiting for a Google OS for quite some time, and even though I feel it won’t be my cup of tea, I’m still excited to see how it will turn out to be. I was able to try out their browser as soon as it was released to the public, but I didn’t catch on instantly. The interface didn’t integrate well (with Windows XP), it seemed overly simplistic, and I missed my beloved icons. I saw no reason to switch.
What’s up with Google Chrome?
I had experienced love at first sight when I finally received that invitation for Gmail; not when I used Chrome for the first time. Chrome was made up of some good ideas, one idea that I even found revolutionary, but I could live without it. Then it grew on me. Chrome is like that on a lot of people. They don’t see it as “the best thing ever” but keep it because it’s stress-free and uncumbersome. After some time, you don’t want to go back.
Google released Chrome stating that is was a new, innovative browser that intended to remove the browser’s “chrome” (i.e. interface) in our lives so that we could fully experience the Internet (i.e. Google’s services). Overall, they have achieved that. The proof of it is that the Chrome browser is still growing, taking market-share whilst the others are getting ready to imitate it. Critics can attack Chrome from every angle, but numbers talk: Mashable stated all this in a clear simple sentence without leaving out the facts:
“Chrome grew from 5.22% to 5.61% (0.39%) over the course of February. Internet Explorer shrunk from 62.12% to 61.58% (0.54%), Firefox from 24.43% to 24.23% (0.2%), Safari from 4.53% to 4.45% (0.08%) and Opera from 2.38% to 2.35% (0.03%).”
Clicky provides us with a nice graph that summarizes all of this.
It is interesting to note that Chrome is the only browser still growing, and that at a constant rate. It is undeniable that Chrome is filling up space, and pushing all other browsers away. Of course, it’s important not to over-interpret the data. Chrome is getting bigger, and all other browsers are loosing market share, but that doesn’t meant that Chrome is going to eat us all or that everybody prefers Chrome. What it means is that Chrome still has more place to grow, and that some of the innovations it brought were useful: we needed Chrome, we were waiting for it.
Even better, they looked at their own data:
“Chrome use grew among Mashable readers from 12.68% to 14.8% — 2.12%. From that you can deduce that Chrome’s adoption is (unsurprisingly) moving faster among web and tech enthusiasts.”
While it’s not surprising to see that Chrome is growing at the expense of others, it’s relatively larger adoption by technophiles says a lot about them. Now, I generally imagine that geeks like me love configuring stuff. “Powerful” software is much more interesting than any quick-simple application for any IT-oriented person because it broadens your possibilities, but it actually seems that a large part of these technophiles actually prefer simpler worry-free applications. Even for their browser, the most used application on their machines. Of course, extensions may have played a large role in Google Chrome’s growth, but even with a very powerful extension system like the one Chrome uses now, it will never be nearly as customizable as Firefox is.
Will Google Chrome continue to grow?
Part of Google Chrome’s growth may be attributable to Google’s huge worldwide advertisement campaign on January, but Chrome seems to grow just as fast after all the billboards have disappeared. If Google’s browser is loosing momentum it is not visible yet. My bet is that there are many more people who would love to use chrome than people who use it already, and they will continue to join the clan.
Chrome is clearly a good web browser with still a lot of growth potential. As a part of Google’s strategy, its goal is probably to improve our access to the web, not only for its users, but for everyone who might use Google’s services. Google doesn’t really care if anyone uses Chrome per se, but its adoption means more people have a better access to its services. Chrome’s comparatively higher speed, reliability and adherance to web standards opens more possibilities to users, including the use of (Google’s) web applications. Chrome, and Chrome OS, are all part of Google’s main strategy: to make the web indespensable to our lives. The release of the Android 2.1 on Google’s and HTC’s Nexus One is another example of this. Beyond tight integration with Google’s Apps and services, the Nexus features a google search box that’s more accessible than the phone itself. Some time ago, the company released some applications for the PC platform, but mostly these seemed to be experiments of an Internet company trying to make the link between the web and the desktop seemless. Google doesn’t like our desktop, the early Chrome OS builds prove that. Chrome is the best way Google found to bring the web to our hands in the most seamless way possible. It’s good for them, and it’s good for us. The more people adopt it in the short run, the better webapps and SaaS can get. The better the web gets, the better our computing experience becomes. Thank you, Chrome.
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