Chrome bumps Safari to become third-placed browser

by Stevie Smith - Jan 5 2010, 05:38

Rival Web browsers don’t currently pose much of a threat to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer when it comes to market dominance; however, ongoing competition between the also-rans has this week seen gadget specialist Apple losing out to search giant Google.

Moreover, according to monthly performance figures offered up by Web metrics outfit Net Applications, Google’s sleek and streamlined Chrome browser has successfully elbowed its way past Apple’s long-established Safari to secure third place behind Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.

Chrome’s steadily improving user base has seen the browsing platform gain a further 0.7 percent of the market in December, pushing its total share for 2009 to 4.63 percent and outperforming the 4.46 percent logged by Safari.

Despite failing to hold off the challenge of Chrome, December wasn’t exactly a complete bust for Safari, which itself registered a 0.1 percent market improvement.

In terms of the month’s other notable performers, Mozilla’s popular Firefox platform – the main threat to Microsoft’s (default) crown – lost a little ground and fell from 24.72 percent to 24.61 percent, while lowly Opera pushed on from 2.31 percent to 2.4 percent and registered its best ever share.

Although browser executives at Redmond-based Microsoft are probably not fidgeting with worry just yet, Internet Explorer’s gradual month-on-month decline continued in December, with the platform falling from 63.62 percent to 62.69 percent.

Around the Web