14 DAY TRIAL // As of the end of October 2011, there were more Internet Explorer 9 users worldwide than those running all Chrome versions combined.
If IE9 continues on its ascendant trajectory, and all clues point to the fact that it will, it will also surpass Firefox within the next month.
Microsoft made available a number of graphics designed to compare the usage growth of Internet Explorer to that of the latest versions of its main rivals, but also to all releases of Firefox and Chrome.
The data comes from NetMarketshare, and only reveals browser usage on Windows 7. As users know, IE9 only runs on Windows 7 and Windows Vista SP2, as they’re the only two platforms capable of supporting its hardware acceleration feature.
Taking into consideration only Windows 7 users in the United States, Internet Explorer 9’s usage share is larger than that of Chrome 14, Chrome 15, and Firefox 7 combined.
“The good news for developers is that with IE9 at almost 35% share on Windows 7 in the US near the close of October - now 65% of all Windows 7 users in the US have a modern browser,” revealed Roger Capriotti, director, Internet Explorer Marketing.
“Worldwide, the numbers we predicted on Friday are looking good. IE9 is growing nicely and is on path to be the leading modern browser on Windows 7 behind IE8 as early as next month,” he added.
Worldwide, IE’s overall usage share dropped from 54.39% at the end of September 2011 to 52.63% at the end of October. In the same period of time, Firefox showed a small increase from 22.48% to 22.51%, while Chrome grew from 16.20% to 17.62%.
Internet Explorer 8’s usage continues to decrease, and is now down to 29.00% from 29.91% the previous month. According to NetMarketshare Chrome 14 is runner-up with 13.65%, Followed by Firefox 7 with 10.18% and IE9 with 9.79%.
Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) Platform Preview 2 (PP2) Build 10.0.1008.16421 is available for download here.
Windows Internet Explorer 9 RTW for Windows 7 and Windows 7 SP1 is available for download here.
Firefox 7 for Windows is available for download here.
Google Chrome for Windows is available for download here.
Opera 12.00 Codenamed Wahoo Pre-Alpha and Opera 11.50 for Windows are available for download here.
