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Chrome browser takes bronze place as world awaits Google phone
04 Jan 2010 | 23.14 Europe/London
Google's Internet browser has finally overtaken Apple's offering in popularity - just as the Mountain View firm prepares to officially unveil what could be the first iPhone-killer.
Despite Google only releasing it's Chrome browser just over a year earlier, according to the figures for December 2009 it's already become the third most commonly used out there - weapon of choice to 4.63 per cent of all web surfers. In doing so, it's wrested the bronze medal out of the claws of Apple's Safari in record time (4.46 per cent of net users). While Internet Explorer is still king - laying claim to 62.69 per cent of the market - and Firefox still a solid second with 24.61 per cent, it looks like Chrome's been taking a bite out of the market share of both.
Of course, Google has a reach beyond that of any competitor in the current browser wars. While Internet Explorer and Safari are synonymous with PC and Mac users respectively, the Mountain View company is a friend to both; while Mozilla's Firefox has had to work hard at establishing a reputation, Google was already a trust brand for millions of people by the time its browser launched. Just placing a simple Chrome advert on its own basic homepage and bundling it in with various third party software will have resulted in countless numbers of easy wins for the firm.
But Google's mold-breaking decision to also promote Chrome conventionally via billboards and newspaper ads - including a wrap-round cover for ubiquitous free paper The Metro - appears to be paying off too. (In what is an advertising recession, it'll have come on the cheap as well.) Back when the promotional campaign was at its most virulent halfway through December, the number of online searches for "Chrome," "Google Chrome" and "Google Browser" apparently doubled.
Meanwhile, searches for "Google phone" and "Nexus One" will surely be on the up at this very moment: the long-rumoured, first mobile phone handset designed by Google is finally about to see the light of day. And like Apple's iPhone, Nexus One will be a touchscreen-based smartphone with fully integrated web browsing, will play music and video and will support what's destined to become a bewildering array of "apps." In what would be a coup in the cool stakes, one of them could be the first American release of music-streaming service Spotify.
The Nexus One is being put together by Google collaborator HTC - and it's thought the timing of its official unveiling has been calculated to cynically steal the spotlight away from Apple. While the house Steve Jobs built is expected to reveal a tablet computer toward the end of this month, a Google phone will surely steal column inches along with the limelight. In the meantime, it's expected a new accessory that'll make it possible for the iPhone to take credit card payments will be announced later this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
While the UK release date is unknown, all signs point to Nexus One going on sale as early as next week in the United States. It's expected to retail for £325 without a contract, or go for around £110 on the T-Mobile network. And at this point, it looks like will hit the market with the name "Nexus One," despite a threatened legal attempt to stop that happening. The estate of Philip K. Dick is apparently distraught that the moniker borrows from Blade Runner - which is based on one of his books - where Nexus-6 androids feature at the heart of the storyline.
Despite Google only releasing it's Chrome browser just over a year earlier, according to the figures for December 2009 it's already become the third most commonly used out there - weapon of choice to 4.63 per cent of all web surfers. In doing so, it's wrested the bronze medal out of the claws of Apple's Safari in record time (4.46 per cent of net users). While Internet Explorer is still king - laying claim to 62.69 per cent of the market - and Firefox still a solid second with 24.61 per cent, it looks like Chrome's been taking a bite out of the market share of both.
Of course, Google has a reach beyond that of any competitor in the current browser wars. While Internet Explorer and Safari are synonymous with PC and Mac users respectively, the Mountain View company is a friend to both; while Mozilla's Firefox has had to work hard at establishing a reputation, Google was already a trust brand for millions of people by the time its browser launched. Just placing a simple Chrome advert on its own basic homepage and bundling it in with various third party software will have resulted in countless numbers of easy wins for the firm.
But Google's mold-breaking decision to also promote Chrome conventionally via billboards and newspaper ads - including a wrap-round cover for ubiquitous free paper The Metro - appears to be paying off too. (In what is an advertising recession, it'll have come on the cheap as well.) Back when the promotional campaign was at its most virulent halfway through December, the number of online searches for "Chrome," "Google Chrome" and "Google Browser" apparently doubled.
Meanwhile, searches for "Google phone" and "Nexus One" will surely be on the up at this very moment: the long-rumoured, first mobile phone handset designed by Google is finally about to see the light of day. And like Apple's iPhone, Nexus One will be a touchscreen-based smartphone with fully integrated web browsing, will play music and video and will support what's destined to become a bewildering array of "apps." In what would be a coup in the cool stakes, one of them could be the first American release of music-streaming service Spotify.
The Nexus One is being put together by Google collaborator HTC - and it's thought the timing of its official unveiling has been calculated to cynically steal the spotlight away from Apple. While the house Steve Jobs built is expected to reveal a tablet computer toward the end of this month, a Google phone will surely steal column inches along with the limelight. In the meantime, it's expected a new accessory that'll make it possible for the iPhone to take credit card payments will be announced later this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
While the UK release date is unknown, all signs point to Nexus One going on sale as early as next week in the United States. It's expected to retail for £325 without a contract, or go for around £110 on the T-Mobile network. And at this point, it looks like will hit the market with the name "Nexus One," despite a threatened legal attempt to stop that happening. The estate of Philip K. Dick is apparently distraught that the moniker borrows from Blade Runner - which is based on one of his books - where Nexus-6 androids feature at the heart of the storyline.