Ever since Internet Explorer beat out Netscape as the most popular browser, the fight has been heating up between web browsers. Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, Opera along with others have arrived on the scene to take over.

In this article we will update you about the features, performance and usage of these browsers in 2012.

Most browsers in 2012 have features like tabbed browsing, an integrated search engine for search bar, save tabs, a frequently visited list, plugin and extension support, automatic updates, find on a webpage, and HTML 5 support.

There are many general features that some browsers have that the others don’t. Internet Explorer and Apple Safari can only be partially customized, while the other can be fully customized. All but Google Chrome have RSS feeds. The password manager is weak on the Internet Explorer as compared to other browsers in market. Only Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer have parental controls. All but Internet Explorer have spell check. Only Mozilla FireFox and Google Chrome have open source development. Only Opera has mouse gestures. Only Internet Explorer has website pinning capability.

Mozilla FireFox which has 51.9% of desktop browser share, Google Chrome with 19.1%, Internet Explorer with 21.8%, Opera with 5%, and Apple Safari with 1.7%. But, which one is the best? Are they really different than each other?

It is very hard to say which browser is the best. It all depends on what you like. Let’s breakdown the overall features of famous web browsers in 2012.

For speed, there are two things to consider: startup time and webpage loading time.

Internet Explorer earns first, followed by in order of rank Google Chrome, Opera and Safari in terms of startup time.

Google Chrome comes in first followed by Internet Explorer in second, Mozilla FIreFox in third, Opera in forth, and Apple Safari in fifth for web page loading time.

Next are the security features. All have the option to clear their history. All but Apple Safari have private mode. Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla FireFox have strong popup blockers. Opera has an average popup block. Apple Safari has a weak popup blocker. All but Apple Safari have anti phishing.

For technical support, they all have online help, tutorials, user manuals, frequently asked questions, and user forums. Mozilla FireFox, Internet Explorer, and Opera have email support. Only Internet Explorer has telephone support.

Back to the war, even though Internet Explorer is the most popular browser, many people have jumped ship to Google Chrome. At the beginning of 2011, Internet Explorer had 45% of the overall market share and Mozilla FireFox had over 30%. Now in 2012, Internet Explorer has 39% of the market share. Google Chrome has come out of nowhere with 27% of the market share beating out FireFox that has 25%. At the bottom is Apple Safari with 6% and Opera with 2%.

In the past year, Google Chrome has been making a steady incline in overall users. Internet Explorer and Mozilla FireFox have been making a steady decline in market share. In the middle of November, Google Chrome and Mozilla FireFox were at the same market share. In December of 2011, Google Chrome kept rising as Mozilla FireFox fell causing a change in second and third. We can predict that by the end of 2012 Google Chrome will be the mostly used web browsers on earth.

2012 being the year of smartphones and tablets will see an increase in the usage of internet through handheld devices. Opera mini was the first choice of mobile phone manufacturers during 2010-2011. This trend is changing with the most manufacturers now adopting Android OS for their mobile phones. Here again, according to our prediction Google’s Android browser will beat Opera Mini and iOS Safari in 2012.

Overall, we can predict on the basis of statistics and upcoming improvements in browsers, Google’s browsers will be winner in 2012.