All hail King Chrome: Google’s browser celebrates first month on top

We saw it coming. Chrome’s been destined to take the lead in the browser wars for some time now.

A couple of weeks ago, it finally did — ousting Microsoft’s Internet Explorer along the way.

It wasn’t a mere blip on the radar either. According to StatCounter the good people at Googleplex can now celebrate being top of pops for a full month.

For the full month of May according to data the company pulled from over 15-billion page views, Chrome took 32.43% of the worldwide market compared to 32.12% for IE and 25.55% for Firefox.

According to StatCounter CEO Aodhan Cullen, however, the company can rest about as easy in its current position as an occupant of the Iron Throne of Westeros.

“While attention has recently been focused on the battle between Chrome and IE, not-for-profit Mozilla’s Firefox with its loyal membership base should not be underestimated,” commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. He points out that an upswing of over 0.6% in Firefox usage from April to May 2012 (apparently at the expense of IE) helped to push Chrome into pole position.

“The browser wars are back with a vengeance,” he added. “This time there are three major players competing for the top spot but, ultimately, the real winner will be the end-user who can look forward to more choice and innovation as a result of this increased competition.”

If Google’s experiences in the mobile world, where its Android browser has been in pitched battle with Opera Mini for some time now, teach us anything it’s that browser dominance can be fleeting.