The internet browser wars during the 1990s saw Microsoft’s Internet Explorer emerge as the strongest of the pack, but new data from StatCounter shows its browsing software is losing ground to open-source rivals.
The data shows that since March, IE has lost 11.4% of its market share. While the latest incarnation of the software, IE8, has managed to capture 16.7% of the market as of 4 July, the three latest versions of IE only hold 54.4% market share, down from the 65.8% recorded in March.
That 11.4% has been distributed between Firefox, Safari and Chrome. Nearly 5% has gone to Firefox 3.0, which currently holds 27.6% market share. The rest has been distributed between Firefox 3.5, Safari 4 and Chrome 2.0.
TechCrunch writer Erick Schonfeld says the new data shows that another browser war is starting to emerge, even though we are in the middle of an “upgrade cycle”.
“When all is said and done, we might see a major shake-up in market share and almost definitely will see leadership pass from IE7 to another browser. The question is will that be IE8 or Firefox? Whichever one wins, the good news is that IE6 is finally dying.”
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
