Another important day in the browser wars: Chrome has surpassed Firefox in market share for the first time ever, according to a new report from StatCounter.
Google's browser had 25.69 percent global market share for November, while Firefox took home 25.23 percent. Both trail Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which is still the world's most used browser at 40.63 percent market share.
Here's the graph from StatCounter showing the latest movements in browser usage, from November 2009 to November 2011, with Chrome and Firefox criss-crossing for the first time:
A quick note on analytics: In a blog post, StatCounter CEO Aodhan Cullen notes that his company measures usage, not just downloads of the browser, which in his mind "show[s] that people are actually using it to access the web[.]"
The Chrome browser has seen quick adoption, considering its formidable opponents in the space. Officially released to the public in late 2008, Chrome launched much later than its rivals Firefox (2004), Apple's Safari (2003) and the once-ubiquitous Internet Explorer (1995).
Google's browser has been praised for its comparative speed and its robust extension shop. After overcoming a scandal when it did not sign a "Do Not Track" pledge in July 2011, Google and its browser have sailed smoothly along, pushing out updates and apparently picking up users in the process.
Chrome had just passed 20 percent global usage in June of this year, and now it is up past 25 percent, overtaking Firefox.
The full StatCounter report can be viewed here with an accompanying blog post here.