Net Apps Web Share Aug 09

Mozilla's Firefox browser cut significantly into Microsoft's market share of web browsers in August, data from Net Applications shows. Its increase to 22.98 percent of the market wasn't an absolute high but resulted in Internet Explorer reaching an all-time low of 66.97 percent, a sharp fall from 67.68 percent just a month earlier. Other browsers also made inroads, as Google Chrome climbed to 2.84 percent (fourth place) and Opera rose slightly to 2.04 percent (fifth place).

Apple's Safari was the only browser to remain flat with its share at exactly 4.07 percent (third place) for the second consecutive month. It's possible this figure will change significantly as the launch of Mac OS X Snow Leopard at the end of August will lead to Safari being the default platform on more systems and others choosing it over competitors for speed and features specific to the 64-bit OS. A similar effect may occur for Microsoft in October, when Windows 7 ships.

Unusually, operating system share on the web was virtually flat in August as Apple and Microsoft alike gained very small amounts.

By Electronista Staff