Firefox the open source browser from Mozilla is gaining ground on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer in the UK according to the latest findings from Nielsen//NetRatings. They have increased their market share by 768 percent since September 2004. Firefox is the browser of choice for 12 percent of the UK.
Internet Explorer has lost 9 percent of the UK market share over the past two years but still remains in first place with 88 percent of the market share.
“Whilst IE still dominates the Web browser space, and is likely to do so for some time to come, the growth in take-up of Firefox shouldn’t be ignored,” said Alex Burmaster of Nielsen//NetRatings. “Aside from its supporters’ claims of its superior security and functionality, the open source nature of Firefox and its competition with Microsoft has a huge appeal to those who believe in the egalitarian and participatory ethos of the Internet.”
He went on to say that Firefox represents the Web 2.0 while Internet Explorer is viewed as Web 1.0.
The numbers indicate that Firefox users generally are avid Internet users when compared to Internet Explorer users. UK Firefox users spend 28 percent more time online and view 41 percent more Web pages than UK Internet Explorer users.
“Firefox has a more male-centric and slightly younger user-base and its users are more heavy consumers of the Internet than their IE counterparts,” said Mr. Burmaster. “This presents an interesting paradox – whilst its software more closely represents the new phase of user-generated content, or Web 2.0, the composition of its audience more closely mirrors that of the early days of the Internet.”
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Mike is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
