IE9 Runner-up to IE8 as Top Browsers on Windows 7 Worldwide

It was only a matter of time, after all, but according to Microsoft estimates, Internet Explorer 9 could move into the runner-up position to its predecessor IE8 as the top browsers on Windows 7 in terms of usage share.

Roger Capriotti, director, Internet Explorer Marketing reveals that the number of Windows 7 users relying on IE9 will get closer to those running IE8 as early as November 2011.

Capriotti is basing the conclusion on the evolution of browser usage according to statistics from NetMarketshare.

“It’s looking to be a good Halloween for developers. Windows 7 share continues to climb, and as early as next month, IE9 on Windows 7 could be the leading modern browser behind IE8,” Capriotti explained.

“For developers this means that most Windows 7 users have a modern browser capable of running exciting, interoperable, HTML5 experiences - allowing developers to use the same markup across their websites.”

As you can see from the graphics on the left, IE9’s usage trajectory is growing at an impressive rate, and is bound to continue increasing as more and more Windows 7 users upgrade to this version of Internet Explorer 9.

At the start of October 2011, IE8 accounted for a usage share of 31.6% of all Windows 7 users worldwide, with IE9 up to 20.79%, Chrome 14 at 18.1% and Firefox 6 and 7 at 15.7%.

Considering just Windows 7 users in the United States, the vast majority of them were already running Internet Explorer 9 at the start of this month, some 31%, according to NetMarketshare.

Vince Vizzaccaro, EVP Marketing and Strategic Alliances NetApplications revealed in a phone conversation earlier today that NetMarketshare data is harvested from no less than 160 million unique users worldwide.

In order to narrow it down to this number, NetApplications analyzes between three and five billion pageviews each month producing new reports on a monthly basis.

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 for Windows is available for download here.

Google Chrome for Windows is available for download here.

Opera for Windows is available for download here.