Internet Explorer Usage Drops, Chrome Usage Rises

Microsoft's Internet Explorer now has dropped to only about half of the Web browser marketshare, while Google's Chrome use seems only to be rising.

Ars Technica reports that there have been some big changes in the Web browser market.

Where has that market share gone? In the early days, it all went Firefox's way. These days, it's Chrome that's the main beneficiary of Internet Explorer's decline, and October was no exception. Chrome is up 1.42 points to 17.62 percent of the desktop browser share. Firefox is basically unchanged, up 0.03 points to 22.51 percent. Safari grew 0.41 points to 5.43. Opera has been consistently falling over the last few months, and it dropped again in October, down 0.11 points to 1.56 percent.

The report also goes on to say that the mobile browser market has expanded, but it's also much  smaller and more volatile -- that's code for it can change on a dime . Safari has 62.1 percent of the market after a rise of 6.58 points, and Android's native browser is the biggest loser -- dropping 2.91 points to 13.12 percent.

Chrome has been doing some serious PR on its brand and its browser, creating the Chromebook, enlisting Lady Gaga, launching a commercial for the "It Gets Better" campaign and buying primetime ads. Google also took a page from Apple by opening a high-profile Chrome retail store in London and airports in the United States. After all that, it would be a surprise if it wasn't gaining in popularity.

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