When we talk about current browsers, it seems that a latent war have started. Where there is a cut throat competition and a constant battle to prove one superior, there are a few that are in the markets on the basis of their market worthiness and credentials.
Mozilla Firefox has become an emerging threat for some of its counterparts. Not only have been the critics applauding the browser for its advanced and sturdy features but it is visibly surpassing its contenders and would soon outwit figures hence establishing itself as a superior and a well vetted product across the Worldwide industry.
Latest Statistics
According to the latest data, Microsoft's Internet Explorer has reported its largest market share loss since November 2008, while Mozilla’s Firefox garnered nearly all the benefits. The report further adds that the version 6 of the Internet Explorer took a nose dive in the period.
The Internet Explorer was reigning the market but came 2004 and Mozilla Firefox was launched. It introduced the consumers with a neat experience of TABS, opening many sites at a time and viewing them simultaneously. Now, the release of Firefox 3.5 came as a formidable challenge to the Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8. It can be seen in the August figures, where Internet Explorer’s market share dropped 1.1 percentage points to 66.6%. It was Internet Explorer steepest since last November, when Microsoft's browser plunged by 2 percentage points. In the last one year, Internet Explorer has lost 8.6 points of browser share.
For the lower spots, Google’s Chrome has gained 1.25 percentage points on Apple’s Safari. Analysts predict that with such current pace, Chrome will replace Safari as the No. 3 browser in a year. Also, Opera accounted for 2.1%, growing by 0.1 percentage point. With the launch of its latest version, called Opera 10, which has major updates featuring built-in page compression and a revamped tab bar, it seems that it will occupy some more pie in the market.
Microsoft "Ballot Screen"
Earlier, Microsoft has announced to introduce a browser "ballot screen" in its new operating system Windows 7 in two months, and later in Windows XP and Vista, that will let European users choose which browser they use to access the Internet. Meanwhile, within Internet Explorer, the prior trend continued in August. The version six lost 2.4 percentage points, dropping to 24.8%, while version seven lost 1.9 points, falling to 21.2%. But, the latest Internet Explorer 8 has gained 2.7 percentage points to post an August average of 15.2%.
The eight year old version, Internet Explorer 6’s August plunge was the biggest since December 2007, may be due to the recent "Kill IE6" campaign. Major Websites, including Facebook and YouTube, have urged their users to ditch the aged application. Also, the software giant has given its implicit approval. While, the Internet Explorer 8 market share has grown by 11.6 percentage points in last four months.
Conclusion
Now that does not sound like some really good news to Microsoft that has been bleeding profusely and hopes to remedy and save some through the much awaited launch of Windows 7.
Meanwhile, there have been varying market reports, suggesting different market shares for different browsers, which seems like a never ending phase. What is however important is the relentless and unconditional access to innovation and hence origin of powerful products.
