Microsoft: No, Chrome never beat Internet Explorer in browser market share

Just recently, the analytics firm StatCounter reported that Google’s Chome browser had beat Internet Explorer and became the world most popular internet browser. Now, Microsoft is saying that this is not true because StatCounter bases its findings on faulty data.

While everyone was buzzing about how Chrome was more popular than Internet Explorer last week, the folks over at Microsoft are shaking their heads. According to Microsoft, StatCounter bases its findings on faulty data and incorrect assumptions. The results are flawed because the rankings dont take into account that Google’s Chrome browser pre-renders certain pages assuming the user would go there next, even if it is never viewed. Microsoft also believes that StatCounter doesn’t accurately geoweight “browser usage based on real-world Internet populations.” Microsoft also stated that StatCounter needs to count unique visitors and not page views.

Microsoft touted Net Applications are the most fair analytics firm, claiming that they don’t count pre-rendered pages, do properly performs geoweighting, and actually develop rank based on unique visitors. Of course, Net Applications ranks Internet Explorer higher than StatCounter did.

So which one is to believe? We know Google’s Chrome browser is becoming increasingly popular, but based on what Microsoft pointed out, is it really close to overtaking Internet Explorer?