Search engine company Google’s Web browsing software ‘Chrome’ has dislodged Mozilla’s Firefox as the second most popular browser in the UK.
A report by the Guardian said that last month, Google’s Chrome captured 22% of UK users, surpassing Mozilla’s Firefox browser share marginally, according to the Web metrics firm Statcounter.
At the top is Microsoft’s Internet Explorer with 45% share, though the browser is losing market share to Chrome.
Google Chrome engineer Lars Bak told the Guardian it is not just the speed that appeals to users.
Bak said, "Speed is a fundamental part of it, but it’s also about the minimal design and the way it handles security. If you as a user try [to load] a webpage and it feels snappy, it’s really hard to go back [to another browser]. It has shown that people spend more time interacting with the web."
In June this year, Google launched the Chromebook, a laptop that uses Google’s Chrome Web browser for everything on a computer from OS to software to storage in the UK.
The devices have only16 GB storage space as users are expected to store their data on the cloud, and they take seconds to be active after being switched on.
Users do not have to install software via a CD as in computers running on traditional operating systems such as Microsoft’s Windows or Apple’s Mac OS. The Chrome Web browser installs the required applications on a remote server and updates them automatically.
