Windows 7 just overtakes XP as top OS in the US
updated 01:55 pm EDT, Mon April 11, 2011
Windows 7 now top OS in the US, ekes out XP
Windows 7 has just overtaken Windows XP as the top operating system in the US, according to the latest stats from StatCounter. As of April 7, the newer OS reached a 31.71 percent of share, while Windows XP is only slightly behind, at 31.56 percent. The data was collected using visitor stats from over three million websites and should theoretically cover a large enough swath to represent real share.
In comparison, Windows Vista, which came after XP and before Windows 7, never beat out the older OS. Since launching in October of 2009, Windows 7 enjoyed a steady increase.
On a global scale, however, Windows XP still enjoys a significant advantage, at 47.76 percent versus 31.7 percent for Windows 7. The newer OS is also on top in other countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. In most of these countries, the dominance was achieved much earlier than in the US, or months ago in some cases.
Microsoft has had a difficult time dislodging Windows XP from the top spot as its popularity in developing countries and the desire to avoid Vista left many on the now decade-old OS. [via RoyalPingdom]
