Microsoft may be happy about the sales of Windows 7, but there are other things bothering them. The negative trend of its web browser Internet Explorer continues and according to NetApplications, IE is now as low as 59.95%. A record low that was last seen in 1999 when Internet Explorer 4 was launched. Firefox is the biggest competitor while Google Chrome is the fastest growing.
A similar study by StatCounter claims Internet Explorer is as low as 51.42% and just adds to the downward spin that IE is in. StatCounter adds that Google and Chrome are those making the most profit of Microsoft’s misery.
Since Microsoft launched IE8 back in March 2009, a relatively good browser, market shares for IE have dropped no less than 9 percentages, according to NetApplications.
Whether IE9 and its focus on GPU acceleration and HTML5 can make a difference is hard to say. Microsoft has shown that it can make tremendous recoveries, e.g. Windows 7, but the browser market is going to be tougher.
