Chrome Starting to Lose Steam

While Google’s Android-powered G1 phone is getting all the hype today, the company’s previous launch is losing some of its shine. The number of users of Google’s Chrome browser has taken a hit, dropping down to only 0.77 percent of the browser market at the end of its third week. It had been at 0.85 percent the week before and was above 1 percent immediately after its release.

The data, from Net Applications, indicates users are reverting back to Internet Explorer and Firefox; both those browsers’ numbers have gone up slightly as Chrome’s have gone down. IE jumped 0.24 percent and Firefox 0.06 percent in the same time period. Safari, the research firm has found, has seen the least effect from Chrome’s introduction.

Interestingly, the numbers for Chrome spike the most during the night hours. It makes sense, though: As Net Applications points out, many people have no choice but to use IE at work. When they come home, they use their preferred browser. Firefox and Safari see similar effects.

Researchers suggest Google’s lackluster marketing may be to blame for the dropping share. Along those lines, it’s surprising to see that Google didn’t snatch up the Chrome branding opportunity within the new Android phone announced today. While the G1 does use a “Chrome-like” browser based on the same foundation, it does not carry the Chrome name.

Can Chrome survive? It still has a lot of growth to do as it moves closer to a non-preliminary release, so we may not have seen its full potential (or Google’s full marketing plan) just yet. Still, it has a lot of ground to gain to avoid becoming another blip on the radar of Google Labs-type products that never make it.

Which way do you think it’ll go? It’s not yet November, but this election is open. Vote below.