Mobile-centered Web Browsers

As more and more people are using mobile devices to connect the Internet, rather than desktop computers, web browsers are reacting with a mixture of emotions.

According to market research firms StatCounter and NetMarketShare on Jan. 14, the market share of Chrome increased more than 20 percent in the past year, while the figure of IE decreased 30 percent. According to data from StatCounter, the market share of Chrome rose from 49.66 percent in Dec. 2014 to 56.89 percent in Dec. 2015, while that of IE dropped from 24.55 percent to 16.52 percent during the same period. According to data from NetMarketShare, the market share of Chrome also grew to 32.33 percent from 19.1 percent in Dec. 2014 and the figure of IE declined from 58.3 percent to 48.57 percent.

The two market research firms have different figures of Chrome and IE because StatCounter collects data based on page view and NetMarketShare counts unique visitors' Web browser hits. However, they show the same trend that Chrome is growing in terms of both traffic and unique visitors, while IE is on the downside.

The software industry sources forecast that this trend will be accelerated further this year. The number of people using desktop computers to connect the Internet is continuously reducing, while more people are using mobile devices for the Internet connection. Therefore, the market share of Chrome, which has the strength of mobile operating systems, is expected to steadily increase. As more companies are expected to expand the introduction of mobile devices in business this year, the forecast seems to be more convincing.

An official from the software industry said, “Most web browsers, which have recently become popular in China and Europe, are optimized to smartphones.” Currently, browsers specialized smartphone services, such as Cheetah Browser from Kingsoft, 360 Browser from Qihoo 360 and UC Browser from Alibaba Group, are popular in China.

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