Firefox Grabs European Top Slot From IE

Microsoft's Internet Explorer has fallen from its number one slot as the most-used browser in Europe. According to StatCounter, Firefox grabbed 38.11% share in Europe in December, edging out for the first time IE who had some 37.52%. Chrome had a 14.58% but was up from 5.06% for the same month a year earlier.

A contributing factor is thought to be Microsoft and the European Commission anti trust agreement which was reached in October 2009 and that dictated that Windows users be given a clearer choice when selecting a default web browser and also presented them with a ballot screen in which they can change from Internet Explorer to one of 11 other browsers.
IE is still dominates in North America with 48.92% market share and where Firefox has only 26.7% , Chrome at 12.82% and Safari 10.16%

It is clear that the domination of the Browser market by Microsoft is coming to and end and alternatives now are able to both compete and attract users.

Which Browser Do You Use?

We were brought up during the Netscape Microsoft browser wars and we thought that we seen the end of the browser battles. However it’s certainly getting warm again with Safari, Opera, Firefox and Chrome all cashing Internet Explorer.

In the UK you can’t help but notice those striking Chrome adverts on the billboards as Google build brand awareness.

Now we read news we can hardly believe that Firefox 3.5 is now the world's most popular web browser. Yes even bigger than Internet Explorer 7! According to analysts StatCounter, Mozilla's now has 21.93% of the global market. But then we have Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 also competing in the races and the combined the Microsoft's browser has a whopping 55.44% ( IE 8 20.33% , IE 7 21.2% and even IE 6 retains 13.89%).Chrome is now the third most popular browser.

Now the first mobile phone version of Firefox is about to be launched. Codenamed ‘Fennec’, it will initially be available for the Nokia's N900 phone, followed by other handsets.The organisation is also developing versions for Microsoft's Windows mobile and Google's Android operating system. This could enable apps to be ported easier between platforms and offer a standard representation on any device.

Apple's Safari for mobile, which comes bundled with the iPhone, is the second most popular, whilst Nokia's own browser is third.

So Which Browser Do You Use?

Having just experienced replacing our hard drive on the laptop we understand technology pain and frustration. We also understand the opportunity to declutter and delete those files and applications that just grow like fungus on your computer. So we went from having four browsers to two.

So it was interesting to hear that the browser wars are getting warmer with the news that Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) market share dropped under the 70% last month for the first time since Net Applications started monitoring market share. IE is now down 7.6% points in the last year.

Rival browsers from Mozilla, Apple and Google are benefiting with Mozilla's Firefox, next most popular with some 20%, Apple next with 7.1% and the new Chrome offer from Google slowly bring up the rear. The change appears to be the shift from corporate to home users who obviously prefer Firfefox and Safari and Net Applications state that Firefox and Safari usage climbs on weekends and after work hours.

Microsoft have said that it will launch IE8 in 2009, but as more users shift to the home market it could be continued bad news for the giant Microsoft.

Nescape RIP

Today brings more news that demonstrates that no one can assume the right to exist in the digital world forever. Netscape Navigator, the world’s first commercial Web browser will no longer be developed and effectively die in February after a 13-year run.

Netscape once competed handsomely with Microsoft Explorer but could not compete when Explorer was bundled into the ‘package’. Netscape has since seen the emergence of its open-source cousin, Firefox and now other browsers such as Safari. Where Firefox now commands around 10% of the browser market Explorer dominates.

Some may argue that Microsoft’s dominance was bad and unhealthy but others would say it was good for development in that software only needed to be built to work on Explorer and often trying to port it to other browsers and maintain backward compatibility was a pain if not always possible. The new challenge lies in the mobile world and whether browsers such as Safari can become the de facto standard

People will still be able to download and use the Netscape browser indefinitely, but AOL who paid $10 billion for the product will stop releasing security and other updates on 1st February.