Since its introduction to the computing public over two years ago, Google's Chrome browser has steadily increased its market share and total user base to become one of the most popular browsers on the Web.
Chrome's success over that time frame should surprise nobody as it's arguably the best browser available. Fast, reliable and largely standards compliant, Chrome easily wins hands-down over its competitors when it comes to raw performance. It now seems that Chrome may soon take the extensibility crown away from its main rival, Firefox, within the next few months.
The number of extensions available for Chrome recently breached the 10,000 mark, bringing it closer to Mozilla's flagship product in terms of extended functionality. The main selling points for Firefox have traditionally been its rock-solid stability and rich ecosystem of third-party plug-ins or "add-ons".
Ranging from the developer's favorite tool, Firebug, to mainstream essentials like AdBlock Plus and Flashblock, to name a few, Firefox has an extension for every need. But Chrome is catching up fast in that department and offers similar extensions in nearly every area. Ultimately, that level of customization may be what's needed to lure users away from Firefox for good.
Though many have already jumped on the Chrome bandwagon, there are still many die-hard Firefox fans who refuse to switch.
Firefox was, at one, point superior to Microsoft's Internet Explorer in nearly every way, which is what led to it's impressive surge in popularity over the last few years. Unfortunately, Mozilla hasn't been able to keep that momentum up and may actually be slipping in terms of quality, and most importantly, speed.
It's no secret that Chrome is blazingly fast while Firefox, in comparison, can seem sluggish and bloated. Though the upcoming Firefox 4 will no doubt feature many improvements, the question remains as to whether Firefox can hold onto its market share in the face of Chrome's relentless onslaught.
In addition to free add-ons, Chrome also features its own Web Store, where developers can sell their own custom applications. Like the App Store for Apple's iOS mobile devices, it gives programmers the ability to monetize their unique and groundbreaking ideas by marketing to a wide audience of computer users.
Where does all of this leave Firefox? That remains to be seen, as it's clearly not going anywhere anytime soon. But the luster seems to have worn off for the open-source browser, and the folks at Mozilla have their work cut out for them if they want to stave off what seems like the inevitable as users desert them for the greener grass of Google's Chrome.
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