Mobile Changes the Web Browser Wars

This map from the current Economist magazine shows that the Google web browser Chrome (green) has captured considerable market share worldwide during the past 12 months.

The days of Netscape (intro in 1994) vs Microsoft's Internet Explorer (intro in 1995) are so far in the past that Netscape is an unfamiliar brand to most Millennials. Opera (1996) was an early IE competitor, but once Mozilla Firefox was launched (2004), Firefox gained share very quickly. And when Chrome came along (2008), the marketing muscle of parent Google gave it a huge headstart in capturing share.

However, the rapid rise of mobile browsing is changing the equation again. Firefox seems to be having difficulty achieving significant momentum in the mobile market. Opera reportedly has 100 million mobile users in China. And Google is increasing integration of its Chrome for mobile with other Google apps/functionality (like Google Docs).

Which browser will be on top next year at this time?