Internet Explorer in freefall

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 3 Feb 2009 at 08:25

Microsoft's once invincible Internet Explorer is now used by only two thirds of users worldwide.

Internet Explorer had a 67.55% share of the market in January, down from 75.47% in the same month last year, according to new figures from Net Applications. It's a steep fall from the days when Internet Explorer was used on nine out of ten computers worldwide.

The Microsoft browser has lost market share to rivals Firefox and Safari. The Mozilla browser has risen from 16.98% of the market in January 2008 to 21.53% last month.

Apple's Safari now claims 8.29% of the browser market, up from 5.82% in January 2008.

Google's Chrome has also made a small dent in the Internet Explorer armour. The browser, which was only launched last September, has a 1.12% share of the market.

Internet Explorer's troubles come, somewhat ironically, just weeks after the EU charged Microsoft with monopoly abuse for tying Internet Explorer to Windows.

Microsoft could be forced to bundle rival browsers such as Firefox and Safari with Windows as part of a settlement with the European authorities.

Microsoft is close to releasing the full version of the much-improved Internet Explorer 8. The browser will also be bundled with Windows 7, which now looks almost certain to be released before the end of the year.

The new browser can't come soon enough for Microsoft. Although the company generates no direct revenue from the browser itself, it does drive traffic to Microsoft's portfolio of online services, such as Windows Live search and Hotmail.