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Chrome Browser Takes Number Two Spot… In Taiwan

Posted on 07. Sep, 2011 by Daniel Cawrey in Chrome, Chrome OS, Features

I recently came across a report that Taiwan, the island located just off the coast of mainland China, has anointed Chrome as the number two browser there. During the month of August, Chrome was able to capture a 15.53% share, passing Mozilla Firefox’s 13.35% share. In the number one spot is of course Internet Explorer, which holds a 67.52% lead.

This might not be of much significance to most, as the majority of readers on this blog don’t reisde in Taiwan. But what is important about Taiwan is the sway it has over the computer design and manufacturing industry today.

As has been noted, Google has opened a Chrome OS design center on the island as of late. They are trying to exert more influence in Taiwan because the majority of future computers are conjured up there for manufacture in China.

And there’s not doubt of the continuing influence that Microsoft has had on Taiwan, partnering with hardware giants such as Quanta Computer to ensure that the Windows dominance continues. It seems to be normal convention that when you use Windows, you seem to also choose Internet Explorer as your defacto browser.

Recent StatCounter measurements suggest that this seems to continue to be the case from a worldwide perspective, but the fact of the matter is that Internet Explorer does not measure up in the same numbers as it does in Taiwan – not neatly a 60% lead yet Chrome is in the 20% threshold even though it holds the number three spot.

Indeed every market is different, and the move towards more usage of Chrome in Taiwan suggests continued interest from a number of people there in the use of the browser, its operating system component as well as the webapp ecosystem that is surrounding it in terms of Google Apps and its ilk.

The Taiwanese have been somewhat suspect of Chrome OS as a viable platform such as Acer, whose botched Chromebook launch this summer must have had something to do with a degree of apathy to be so improperly carried out. Nevertheless, I would expect to see an uptick of Chrome OS devices in the future both in the number of model available as well as number of units shipped once we see a dramatic drop in price.

This is probably going to hinge on Chromebooks shifting from uber-expensive (comparatively) Intel Atom processors to ARM-based solutions that are a fraction of the overall cost. Indeed, Google’s acquisition may not just bold well for Android devices, which are ARM-powered, but also for finding specific solutions for Chrome OS on a number of different form factors.

Do you think that Chrome’s growing adoption within Taiwan is due to a curiosity of Chrome OS over there?

via Focus Taiwan

Related posts:

1. Chrome Takes Firefox’s Place As The UK’s Second Most Popular Browser
2. Google Establishes Engineering Center for Chrome OS in Taiwan
3. Surprised? Chrome Gets Top Spot in Google Executive Management

Tags: Chrome browser adoption Taiwan, Taiwan Chrome, Taiwan Chrome OS, Taiwan Chrome OS adoption, Taiwan hardware industry