Browser wars: the rise of Chrome threatens Internet Explorer, and Mozilla's revenue

Internet Explorer now accounts for less than 50 percent of worldwide web browser usage, a fall from its peak of 88 percent in 2003, Firefox is stalling and Chrome is on the rise. What can we expect from the next web browser war?



The emergence of Google Chome in mid-2008 has hit Internet Explorer hard. A fall below the psychologically important barrier of 50 percent market share makes the latest version, Internet Explorer 9, all the more important for the company.

The rise of Chrome is also affecting Mozilla Firefox, the second most popular desktop web browser, which has stayed at 30 percent market share since May last year.

Web browsers are big business. Mozilla has revealed that in 2008 it pulled in $79 million of revenue from ads served up when you use the Google, Yahoo or eBay search box or download Google's toolbar.
Google's investment in Chrome is certainly motivated by this revenue stream. Why should it pay out for the referrals when it can serve them up for free within Chrome?

Mozilla's long-term advertising deal with Google ends in 2011. No surprise then that Mozilla is reaching out to other ad partners: Microsoft announced last week that the new version of Firefox 4 will include an option for searching via Bing.

Mobile web development is an underappreciated area, but one which will become more and more important over the next decade.

source, from wonderful site: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/8048679/Browser-wars-the-rise-of-Chrome-threatens-Internet-Explorer-and-Mozillas-revenue.html