I just received a press release from NetApplications claiming Firefox usage has slipped over the previous month.
Now, we all know that the only way to truly gauge usage of any browser is a consistent pattern showing the same results from multiple firms over an extended period of time (at least three months), but if Firefox usage has peaked, this would be the first sign.
The release:
TUG-OF-WAR BETWEEN FIREFOX AND INTERNET EXPLORER CONTINUES, FIREFOX USAGE SLIPS IN JULY
ALISO VIEJO, CALIF., August 12, 2005 – NetApplications, a leader in Web-based applications that measure, monitor and market Web sites for the Small to Medium Enterprise (SME), today announced through its monthly Web site traffic analysis that FireFox has, for the first time, slightly receded in its impressive rise against Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
FireFox receded to 8.07% in July down from an all time high of 8.71% in June. Meanwhile, Microsoft grew to 87.2% in July up from 86.56% during June of 2005. The Mac staple, Safari posted modest growth garnering 2.13% while most other browsers experienced little change during the same time period.
“Mozilla recently created a for-profit division just in time to see its FireFox browser drop .7% in 30 days,” noted Dan Shapero, Chief Operating Officer. “Microsoft’s Internet Explorer actually gained ground at the expense of FireFox recent stride. At 8.07%, FireFox is still flirting with Mass Appeal, so August should be an interesting and telling month.”
July Browser/Market Share:
Microsoft Internet Explorer – 87.20%
FireFox – 8.07%
Safari – 2.13%
Netscape – 1.50%
Opera – 0.49%
Mozilla – 0.52%
Other – 0.09%
HitsLink is Net Applications’ flagship product providing advanced website statistics and analysis for webmasters and eMarketers alike. The data has been collected from over 40,000 Hitslink.com-monitored global Web sites.
Please feel free to use this data in your reports or articles, simply source it as, “Data for this article was compiled from global traffic statistics from Web sites tracked by NetApplications’ HitsLink.com.”
The HitsLink Enterprise Service starts at $14.95 per monthly subscription. A free trial is available at www.HitsLink.com/trial.
About NetApplications
Since 1999 NetApplications has been a leading source of tools and utilities for webmasters and eMarketers for small to medium enterprise (SME). The company has a complete suite of simple and affordable subscription-based applications that are designed to help users have greater success with their Web site marketing efforts. Headquartered in Aliso Viejo California, NetApplications distributes its services through over 3,000 partners and affiliates. These services may also be founded at www.netapplications.com, www.hitslink.com , www.submitter.net, www.publishplus.com, www.1stwarning.com and www.toolshack.com.
Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.
Visit the InsideGoogle blog.
