Chrome Market Share Leapfrogs Opera on Day 1

If Microsoft and Mozilla were content to shrug off Google's Chrome browser as just another also-ran, they might want to reconsider their position. Chrome still has a ways to go before it poses a legitimate threat to either of the market leaders, but its off to a damn good start, surpassing Opera in market share right off the bat. Net Applications' Market Share statistics site shows Chrome peaking at 1.48 percent the day after release, and as high as 1.73 percent yesterday. By comparison, Opera sits at .71 percent for the month of August, the highest it's been all year.

So what's the big deal? That remains to be seen, but Google's muscle in the online community should be obvious. For all of Chrome's potential, it's a beta release that so far doesn't support extensions and isn't yet as polished as other established browers, at least not yet. And while Opera isn't nearly the opponent that either Firefox or Internet Explorer is, many would consider it a niche favorite.

Is Chrome's initial success a sign of more to come, or will the initial buzz wear off?