Last week, it was reported that Google's rapidly rising Chrome browser had surpassed Firefox for the first time in popularity. According to research firm StatCounter Global Stats, Chrome accounted for 25.96 of the global browser usage in November, second to Internet Explorer. That's up from just 13.35 percent a year ago. Mozilla's Firefox had 25.23 percent of the market share in November, down from 31.17 last November and part of a slow but steady decline. That decline, along with uncertainty surrounding a key revenue-generating partnership Mozilla has with Google, has many asking if Firefox is doomed:
Firefox is definitely in trouble: "It hasn't been a good year for Mozilla and its flagship product, the Firefox browser," says Ed Bott at ZD Net. It's lost significant market share to Google Chrome and some important execs have left. The company also relies on a partnership with Google for much of its revenue, and that partnership is now in question. In an age where consumers want their browser to be the same one that their apps rely on, Google and Microsoft could well push Firefox into irrelevance.
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