Why Chrome is Going to Win the Browser War

By on October 5, 2010 in Tech

Jolie O’Dell reports that Internet Explorer’s share of the internet browser market has fallen below 50% for the first time in a very long time.  Meanwhile Firefox’s share grew by half a percent during September 2010.

Three things seem pretty clear to me.  One, Internet Explorer is fighting a war it can’t win.  Two, Firefox is going to have to scramble to stay in the game.  Three, Chrome is going to beat everybody.  Maybe sooner than later.

Internet Explorer had a good ride, replacing Navigator and becoming the people’s (default) choice for a decade or so.  I moved from Navigator to Internet Explorer back in the day (after much urging from my IT friends at my old firm), and then from Internet Explorer to Firefox a few years ago (also at the suggestion of my IT friends).  Internet Explorer seemed bloated, and Firefox seemed lithe and nimble, and offered a web-full of excellent extensions that allowed me to create something akin to a custom-made browser.  But over time, Firefox started to get a little pudgy.

Then came Chrome.

I tried Chrome when it was first released and was very under-whelmed.  I ran straight back to Firefox for another year and a half.  A few months ago I tried Chrome again, and, wow, what a difference!

Chrome, at least so far, is the best combination of efficiency (e.g., non-bloat), speed, good design (both looks and usability) and customization.  It’s both minimalist and robust.  I love it.

The universe of extensions kept me tethered to Firefox for a long time- probably too long.  When I took another look at Chrome I realized that you don’t need as many extensions with Chrome.  And I realized that the ones I really need are available.  I only use 7 extensions, but they are 7 great ones:  AdBlock, Google Dictionary, Google Mail Checker, Google Voice, iReader, NPR and RSS Subscription Extension.

Chrome is, hands down, the best browser right now.  Add Chrome’s elegant (and strategically advantageous) integration with other Google products, and Google’s obvious commitment to push out upgrades and new features, and I just don’t see how the other browsers can compete.

I’ve moved my entire family to Chrome and, unlike my disastrous attempt to move my family from Word to Google Docs (which resulted in an immediate and simultaneous mutiny on the part of every other member of my family), everybody is happy.

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  • Josetiangis

    very interesting

  • http://exde601e.blogspot.com/ George M.

    I agree, Chrome has a lot of advantages over the other browsers and with the fast development cycle it will probably race ahead.

    Is’s no wonder everybody revolted to Google Docs, it’s by no means a finished product. I can’t use it to any really productive tasks.

  • Umapathy

    i really like to use Chrome
    but my touch pad is not working correctly with chrome
    so i now just using Firefox

  • Testerman1001

    But do they (google) collect our browsing patterns? Is this the intention behind giving us a free browser?

  • Mauricio Alves

    I suggest to you to try to use him/it Operates browser. Your opinion on what is a browser clean, light, fast and complete it will radically change.

  • http://twitter.com/geeknik geeknik

    I just can’t pull myself away from Firefox and into Chrome. =)

  • http://twitter.com/bramax Estevão (BraMax)

    Congrats, men… I agree, Chrome is the best.

  • http://twitter.com/tehk tehk

    You failed to mention WHY they will win in the long run. The primary reason they will win is because Chrome will run on every OS: Linux, OSX, Windows, ChromeOS, Android. Firefox is the only other browser that can claim this, however they just aren’t iterating as fast as Chrome is right now. If Google can keep this up, they will leave Firefox in the dust like the others they did over a year ago….

  • http://twitter.com/Vintuitive Vincent Brown

    I notice you didn’t mention Safari. I prefer Safari, which uses Webkit, the underlying engine that Chrome is built on. Chrome is much slower to update certain page elements than Safari. Twitter feeds, just to give one example, update instantly on Safari, while several hours can pass before Chrome shows the last tweet. I don’t know why this is. Safari is much faster and snappier in my experience.

  • http://www.newsome.org Kent Newsome

    I haven’t really studied this, but my assumption is that whatever they collect is anonymous. Either way, my browsing habits are too boring for me to worry about Google tracking me. I do, however, acknowledge that privacy is an important factor when assessing any application.

  • http://www.newsome.org Kent Newsome

    Sure I did. I even put in in bold font.

    Cross-platform is also important, but as you note FF is cross platform, and other (Opera maybe) are close. For me it’s the combination of thin and robust that does it.

  • http://www.newsome.org Kent Newsome

    I was surprised during my recent Mac experiment how much I liked Safari. I used it quite a bit over several weeks and found it very fast and nice. I’d say it’s my second favorite at the moment (though I have only used it a little in Windows).

  • http://www.newsome.org Kent Newsome

    I don’t know anything about that browser.

  • Babaluga

    Nothing is for free and altough I feel now I have to check it out (maybe I should) I know, I mean I don’t know, what Google will do with all my (personal) data floating over it. Everyhone has to decide for him/herself whether such features are a must for the price of sharing private information or not.
    AdBlock feature sounds nice! Does it work foor Google Ads as well? ;)
    Needless to say that Google is extremely smart and knows how to offer great data conveyors, erm I mean tools and programs. ;)

  • Anon_jason

    Kent, I think he intends “Opera.”…god help him.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MUOVPMMEUH4TJKE7CM4JIWFSMA Chris

    Not likely, I can’t stand it- it’s no faster than what I already use and not even slightly customizable.

  • Hurin

    There are still things Chrome must do right. Several language interpretation capabilities don’t yet rival those of Firefox.

    Also, the lack of “Highlight all” when doing a find.

    Adding search keywords from whatever search engine is not yet possible in Chrome.

    Those are up to now my biggest complaints against Chrome.

  • http://twitter.com/BillReichart Bill Reichart

    Couldn’t agree with you more…your journey was virtually identical to mine.

  • Zippy

    Oh please. I tried Chrome for a few months a few months ago and switched back to FireFox.

    Chrome is NOT ready for prime time. Not even close.

  • Zippy

    By the way – the same group of ideological nerds who love Linux and specifically Ubuntu are the same ones who adore Chrome.

    Fan boys – nothing more and nothing less.

  • http://www.newsome.org Kent Newsome

    Well, I have pooped all over Linux and specifically Ubuntu, here, and I still dig Chrome. I agree, to an extent, that it has the benefit of being the trendy pick. But it’s also a Google app. It seems to me that Firefox will always have the better “non-establishment” angle.

  • http://www.newsome.org Kent Newsome

    I disagree. I thought it was not ready for prime time the first time I used it. Now I think it is really, really well designed.

  • http://www.newsome.org Kent Newsome

    Yes, there is room for improvement. Like the “set image as wallpaper” extension/story that is on the net today. I just hope they add the stuff we need without falling into the bloat trap that has ruined so many apps in the past.

  • http://www.newsome.org Kent Newsome

    I don’t know if it’s faster. All of the major browsers seem fast enough for my purposes. I mostly like the look and feel. And it does have extensions. Not as many as Firefox, but it has most of the ones I want.

  • http://www.newsome.org Kent Newsome

    Ad Block seems to block just about everything. I just find browsing to be really easy and less stressful (if that makes sense) with Chrome.

  • Anonymous

    Was kind of strange to read the post as my usage pattern of browsers was 100% the same for me:

    I was on IE, the Firefox. When I tried Chrome the first time I liked the design but I had too many plugins I relied on in Firefox that were not available in Chrome so it was just not enough at the time. I switched back for another 1 year or so.

    Now I have switched to Chrome since about 4 months and with its plugin support and ABSOLUTELY SUPERIOR speed in both the application and loading pages (at least for me) I think it is the best browser now and can only continue to grow more. I think 2010 is the year where it really took off.

  • Steve

    I can’t seriously consider Chrome until it supports Mac OSX services.

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  • http://twitter.com/blunethost Blunethost

    i like yor blog

  • Hallohallo

    im gonna lie……chrome makes me want to stab myself in the face

  • Hallohallo

    im not gonna lie*

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