Chrome only web browser to gain share in February
updated 04:45 pm EST, Mon March 1, 2010
Firefox, IE, Safari drop as Chrome climbs
Google's Chrome was the only significant web browser to gain market share last month, Net Applications found today. The WebKit browser jumped almost four tenths in February to get 5.61 percent of web use where every other large browser dropped. Internet Explorer fell once again to a record low of 61.58 percent, but Firefox and Safari also declined to 24.23 percent and 4.45 percent each.
In operating systems, Windows 7 gained a large amount of traction within the Windows universe but did little to change Micrsoft's overall usage share. Although Windows 7 use soared from 7.57 percent to 8.92 percent of the total market, Windows as a whole barely moved up to 92.12 percent. Most of the recent OS' gain came directly at the expense of users moving from Windows XP or Vista.
Apple continued a soft decline to 5.02 percent as Snow Leopard upgrades weren't enough to offset a drop in Leopard users. Linux once again showed the lack of activity and dropped to 0.98 percent. iPhone share has crossed the 0.5 percent mark for the first time, however.
As with most of these studies, no direct explanation has been given for the browser or OS share changes. Chrome was likely helped by a new Mac beta as well as the relative age of Firefox, but OS use can be swayed by both popularity as well as regular habits. Months with more work days, for example, will see more use of Windows where holiday- and vacation-heavy periods are more likely to favor personal Macs.
OS usage share, February 2010
