Internet Explorer is, for the first time since Mozilla days, overtaken as the main browser in Europe by Firefox (in the US, IE is still dominant). Interesting points:
– Both IE and Firefox market shares are actually declining, whilst Chrome is growing rapidly.
– Safari is growing slightly, and is just overtaking Opera.
– Opera is flat or declining very slightly.
Some commentators have suggested IE’s decline is due to the ‘browser ballot’ introduced into the Windows configuration process in March 2010. That may be, but these numbers don’t show any change in trend since March, so the reasons aren’t clear here.
Given the amount of advertising Google are doing with Chrome, I’m not surprised at Chrome’s rise, but the impact of this on other browsers market share is slightly surprising.