Firefox Use Up 50% In 2006

Firefox Use Up 50% In 2006The open source Mozilla Firefox browser enjoyed a whopping increase of nearly 50% during 2006, according to Web measurement firm, Net Applications

Fuelled by the release of Version 2.0 in October, the freebie Firefox browser registered a massive rise in usage last year, bumping its market share to 14% of all computers online at the end of 2006.

This marks a 46% increase on its 9.6% share of the browser market at the beginning of 2006.

Firefox Use Up 50% In 2006For every winner there has to be a loser or two, and in this case it was Microsoft, who saw their market share slump to 79.6% from 85.1% at the start of 2006, despite the release of an update to Internet Explorer last year.

AOL’s Netscape also ended up feeling like a chump, with their market share slipping from 1.24% down to a teensy weensy 0.9%.

Flying high on Apple’s increased sales throughout the year, the Mac Safari browser rose up to grab 4.2% of the market, up from 3.1% at the beginning of 2006.

Firefox Use Up 50% In 2006Elsewhere, Opera grew its share to match Netscape, up from 0.6% at the beginning of the year.

Much of Opera’s growth has come through partnerships with mobile phone and game console makers (such as Nintendo), striking deals to bundle the browser with their devices.

[From Computerworld]

3 thoughts on “Firefox Use Up 50% In 2006”

  2. Thanks Andrew, I hadn’t seen that site before. I had a quick flick through and agree with the speed point about Opera being faster.

    Not clear what the motivation for creating a site like FirefoxMyths would be really? I would have though that any product that increases the diversity of those available would be a good thing, so don’t understand why you would want to demean it.

    Might be a good idea for the site owner to write a para at the top explaining why you want to debunk the ‘myths’.

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