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Chrome Users Return to IE, Firefox

By - Source: Tom's Guide | B 15 comments
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Google’s new Chrome web browser apparently has lost its charm according to statistics gathered by Net Applications.

According to the company, both Internet Explorer and Firefox lost a handful of users when the browser debut September 2. Touted as a browser that combines "a minimal design with sophisticated technology," Chrome was to make browsing the internet safer and faster than its competitors. Enticed consumers quickly flocked to Google’s download section to test-drive the new software. Google, already throned upon its mounds of cash, saw the browser scoop up almost 1.4 percent market share at its peak; it generated a whopping 0.5 percent market share just two hours after its initial release.

But three weeks later, Chrome users are returning home to Internet Explorer and Firefox. It’s not uncommon to see consumers jump ship and try the newest product. However, Chrome users have discovered that not only is the browser still in its unpolished beta stage, but it implements an alarming keystroke collection attribute built right into the auto-suggest feature. Privacy advocates lashed out at Google, thus convincing the internet giant to anonymize all user data received through search requests beginning September 12.

"Given the concerns that have been raised about Google storing this information—and its limited potential use—we [have] decided that we will anonymize it within about 24 hours (basically, as soon as we practically can) in the two percent of Google Suggest requests we use," wrote Google’s Senior Vice President of Operations Urs Hölzle. "This will take a little time to implement, but we expect it to be in place before the end of the month."

Despite Google’s attempts to regroup, Net Applications reported on Tuesday that Internet Explorer has regained its footing with a strong 72.15 percent market share. This is good news for Bill and the Gang, as the Windows-based browser took the biggest percentile hit when Goggle’s Chrome browser hit the internet, dropping 1.4 percent and ending Chrome’s debut week with a 71 percent share.

"IE took the entire market share hit from Chrome," Net Applications’ executive vice president of marketing Vince Vizzaccaro told Computer World. "And the rest of the alternative browsers all had gains as well."

Indeed, Tuesday’s report also showed that Mozilla’s Firefox browser came in second, owning 20 percent of the market while Apple’s Safari trotted along with a meager 6.37 percent share. Strangely enough, all non-Microsoft browsers actually reported gains upon Chrome’s release.

Because Google’s Chrome browser is still in beta, it’s unfair to judge the software in its present condition. Still, one can’t help but wonder why users are returning to the old "tried but true" browsers. Time - as well as a little polishing - will tell if Chrome will rise back up in the ranks once again.

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  • 1 Hide
    Anonymous , September 24, 2008 7:29 PM
    Chrome sucks....
    If I want a faster browser, I'll go with competitors that have been in the market long enough to polish out the major safety things, like Opera or Firefox.

    Besides, already running Firefox on my laptop, and having IE7 idling by (you can't really disable IE, even if you uninstall all IE software, and type 'iexplore' in the run bar, there's still an iexplore.exe or something on the harddrive); I find 2 browsers more than enough on one PC.

    If Windows 7 comes without internet browser, you can be sure it'll be FF for me.
    It's a little more uncomfortable,but a lot safer, and faster.
  • 2 Hide
    doctorx , September 24, 2008 7:54 PM
    in firefox, i have a few addons that make it worth wild. I cannot live without those. Also, I would like my start page to be both my own page and the live start page. If they really want to make a dent, come out with a 64bit version that has real flash support.
  • 3 Hide
    69camaroSS , September 24, 2008 8:25 PM
    IE 7 is still going to be favored because there are big websites, like Netflix that people like to use. Firefox, Chrome and Safari don't work with their players. Most people don't like to worry about being in the right browser. This is the 1 advantage IE has, and it is a big one. While IE does slow things down, it is a more simple experience for most people. Obviously this is sad, because IE sucks and just keeps getting worse.
  • Display all 15 comments.
  • 0 Hide
    Shadow703793 , September 24, 2008 10:54 PM
    ^Well said. Guess I'm not the only one who went back to FF 3 :p  from Chrome. :lol: 
  • 0 Hide
    KITH , September 24, 2008 11:49 PM
    69camaroSSIE 7 is still going to be favored because there are big websites, like Netflix that people like to use. Firefox, Chrome and Safari don't work with their players. Most people don't like to worry about being in the right browser. This is the 1 advantage IE has, and it is a big one. While IE does slow things down, it is a more simple experience for most people. Obviously this is sad, because IE sucks and just keeps getting worse.


    try IE tab under firefox addons. any site that takes issue with a browser other than IE you add to IE tab and that site will see your browser as IE. problem solved.
  • 0 Hide
    WheelsOfConfusion , September 25, 2008 2:00 AM
    Just a note to clarify, IE Tab actually uses IE to open and read the tab, it doesn't merely fool the site into thinking you are using IE.
  • -1 Hide
    69camaroSS , September 25, 2008 3:18 AM
    KITH

    Umm. . .again simple is the key word to what I said. Firefox can do many things. Add ons are wonderful, but most people using browsers get frustrated with worrying about it. Shoot, I love Firefox but it still bugs the crap out of me when I'm surfing along and get rejected. Plus. . .IE tab isn't completely bug free, and it's not exactly a hastle free add-on. Most people would rather just open IE, and once they are there, they stay there until the next time they open a browser. Then they forget to open firefox and the saga continues until they tire of making the decision and fall back to just using IE. Then they have problems in IE and switch back. Over and over and over and over again. The madness never stops!!!!!! Come on admit it. IE is like the little crusty that you can't flick off your finger.
  • -1 Hide
    Anonymous , September 25, 2008 4:10 AM
    Chrome was pretty much a disappointment. I think IE and Firefox cover the needs of the market almost perfectly. IE is a great browser, it would be great if it were cross-platform (i.e. available on Macs and Linux) but that would be like helping Apple for free... which doesn't make a lot of sense.

    Chrome is a great disappointment. I think Google should tread carefully, lest they waste their good reputation on these unpolished attempts. Google is the best search engine, gmail is fantastic, and google maps is also. They still need to prove themselves when it comes to installable software.
  • 0 Hide
    blackened144 , September 25, 2008 12:17 PM
    I used Chrome for about 2 days before I went to a site that required Adobe Flash.. I spent about 5m trying to get it to install, but it would not work.. After installing Flash 3 times, thinking I had to be doing something wrong, I read the fine print about it supporting Firefox, Mozilla, Netscape, Safari, and Opera. Havent bothered to use it since.
  • -1 Hide
    Anonymous , September 25, 2008 3:27 PM
    I do not understand how anybody can survive without IE. There are too many web sites that work with IE only ( if want to get 100% of all features). Firefox is the second best. Chrome is even worse than Firefox, probably similar to Safari, so personally I do not understand why would anybody keep it. I uninstalled my Chrome after two days of use.
  • 0 Hide
    WheelsOfConfusion , September 25, 2008 7:05 PM
    BromeI do not understand how anybody can survive without IE. There are too many web sites that work with IE only ( if want to get 100% of all features).

    I've been using primarily Linux for about a year and I haven't had a significant problem from the lack of IE. Adobe Shockwave doesn't work under WINE, but that's about it as far as I can remember.

    I never got interested in trying out Chrome, but hopefully most of the complaints can be worked out during this Beta period and better support offered. Remember that when installing a beta, you are using software that you must assume is broken already. The point of beta testing is to work out which bugs need to be fixed sooner rather than later, and maybe tweak the features.
  • 0 Hide
    klarkmdb , September 26, 2008 1:49 AM
    I like my Minefield a.k.a. FF3 ^_^

    IE7 comes next for those websites that have not collaborated yet with FF3
  • 0 Hide
    font9b , September 26, 2008 2:52 PM
    Safari / Webkit is clearly the fastest and most sublime browsing experience you can have on a Mac (or a PC.) Opera died a long time ago, unfortunately, as they continued to innovate the browsing experience forward; but they did it at the expense of a clunky and bloated user experience.

    The only place where Firefox 3.x is superior to Webkit is it's established and dedicated developer community for plug-ins and the more accessible plug-in architecture w/r/t Webkit.

    Webkit's "Squirrelfish" (cringe at the name if you have to) ECMAScript rendering engine is the fastest and most robust of any browser and the fastidious adherence to standards (scoring 100 on the Acid 3 browser test (www.acid3.org) are making FF dig severely deep in the code tree to prune out abject code. In contrast, Webkit does not allow *any* code to be checked in that is _slower_ OR _slows down_ existing code through the nightly regression test policy.

    I love the fact that I can download a nightly release of Webkit KNOWING it's going to be faster than yesterday's version, more stable, and more secure. I can choose to upgrade whenever I want to -- on Apple's release schedule or my own and absolutely know that every night the browser gets *better* (even if al that means is a slight refactoring check-in, etc.)

    Now I used to use IE7 / 8 beta on Vista x64 because it _felt_ fast being pre-loaded during intital boot -- but then I began using Webkit (Safari) and suddenly my eyes were opened. When I switched primarily to Mac I never looked back.

    I always had to use FF + IE on Windows to test code, etc. On my Mac, not so much. Just Webkit. Obliterated my virtual machines and my Bootcamp setup months ago and never have regretted it. (OK, I can't play Civ IV BTS... which is kinda a bummer, but I'm rocking Spore now anyways).

    What Firefox needs to do to catch up is to get their runtime size down, start-up time faster, and *handle tabs as separate processes!* Oh yeah, and score a perfect 100 on Acid 3. That is competition, folks.

    Cheerio,

    -- f9a


  • 0 Hide
    ALANMAN , September 28, 2008 5:24 AM
    Chrome was fast for me for the first week or so. After that it started becoming slower and slower and now it's at the point where even opening a google page takes way too long. I have gone back to Firefox because of this.
  • 0 Hide
    Anonymous , October 10, 2008 9:05 PM
    How about forged Chrome = Iron ( but without the critical points that the privacy concern)
    http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php