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December 21st, 2009

Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 1:52 pm

Categories: Trends

Tags: Mozilla Firefox, Web Browser, Mozilla Corp., Web Browsers, Internet, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Data released by StatCounter indicates that Firefox 3.5 is the world’s most popular browser, having edged ahead of Internet Explorer 7.

Looking at the data, it’s quite possible that Firefox 3.5 won’t retain the top spot for long as Internet Explorer 8 is catching up fast, and will get a further push from Windows 7 sales. That said, Firefox has a fair bit of momentum, so it could very well increase the lead it has over IE. Time will tell …

No matter what browser you happen to be a fan of, you have to admit that that Mozilla’s dethroning of Microsoft’s iron grip on the browser chart is very impressive and quite an achievement.

Well done Mozilla!

Adrian Kingsley-HughesAdrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations

Want to get in touch? Got a tip? Feel free to drop me a note! I ALWAYS respect anonymity. I'm also on Twitter (@the_pc_doc)

Right to Reply: Should any industry representatives wish to comment on any posts on Hardware 2.0, I will be happy to publish their reply verbatim on this blog.

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  • Talkback
  • Most Recent of 233 Talkback(s)
Huh?
So when IE went from 6 to 7 everything worked fine? I remember Expedia
no longer worked once they upgraded the browser and were forcing
FORWARD compatibility. In my experience, I develop for web using FF for
PC and Safari for MAC, go through at the end making all of "IF IE" fixes.... (Read the rest)
Posted by: elCharles Posted on: 02/04/10 You are currently: a Guest | | Terms of Use
And they did it...  NStalnecker | 12/21/09
Exactly!  ye | 12/21/09
Although  Viva la crank dodo | 12/21/09
Yeah, sadly.  NStalnecker | 12/21/09
Can you expand upon this?  ye | 12/22/09
Adblock  NStalnecker | 12/22/09
Thanks. nt  ye | 12/22/09
RE: Adblock  bfilipiak@... | 12/22/09
NoScript  lehnerus2000 | 12/26/09
yeah... right...  cosuna | 12/22/09
What does it leave to be desired?  Spiritusindomit@... | 12/22/09
Ur not talkin' 'bout AT&T here. RU?  junquemail | 12/22/09
Maybe they had no choice but to complain  John Zern | 12/22/09
Possibly  Viva la crank dodo | 12/22/09
Miselading Headline / Article - IE Still Top Browser  NameRedacted | 12/22/09
re  jimk_z | 12/22/09
That's rather absurd...  Spiritusindomit@... | 12/22/09
And what stats are you applying?  rftrel | 12/22/09
no absurdity  jimk_z | 12/22/09
You obviously don't have any experience developing then.  Metronome49 | 12/22/09
Probably  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
"ActiveX" The Root of All That's Evil on the Web! wink  i2fun@... | 12/23/09
Limited experience  sheldonross | 12/22/09
Yours is the Misleading Stat  mejohnsn | 12/22/09
Wrong-O  NameRedacted | 12/22/09
Do you actually look at the graph?  woofa | 12/22/09
pretty good for FF  tbuccelli | 12/22/09
Original data  sharkura | 12/23/09
@NameRedacted  athynz | 12/22/09
FF rules  janesman2007 | 12/22/09
Well said  Macktownjoe | 12/22/09
I also concur  Richard Turpin | 12/22/09
If this is true, consider the consumer base  Mohave Skye | 01/08/10
Chrome?  Jayton | 12/22/09
re  jimk_z | 12/22/09
That is WHY Google is writing Extensions.  mejohnsn | 12/22/09
tried it  fabioq@... | 12/22/09
Chrome doesn't have an Adblock to match  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
And they did it  CapitalismAteItself | 12/22/09
The Internet is a Much Better Place These Days  daengbo | 12/22/09
IE 6 still rules the enterprise  barence773 | 12/21/09
IE 6 is DOA  nobama_2012 | 12/21/09
If Microsoft wants to replace IE6  Yagotta B. Kidding | 12/21/09
One of the worst blunders in the history of IT ...  Dave Kawalec | 12/22/09
Pssst... HTML 5 is *not* a standard  Fred Fredrickson | 12/23/09
I Agree. And also warn my customers of the danger of .NET  914four | 12/23/09
Customers?  dominigan | 01/04/10
That was their dumb decision.  Lester Young | 12/22/09
Give them a deadline  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
PaaaLease  freebird1974 | 12/26/09
Pyrrhic argument  Wintel BSOD | 12/26/09
Not my enterprise!  GoodThings2Life | 12/21/09
Because of the integration w/ MS products  ejhonda | 12/22/09
even MS is killing of IE6  jimk_z | 12/22/09
Not here!  ruirego | 12/22/09
I did my part  kcredden2 | 12/21/09
Sounds like user 'net practices matter more.....  Selvarin | 12/21/09
Free software, eat some crow MS Advocates  nobama_2012 | 12/21/09
Don't feed the Trolls, Don't feed the Trolls .... (NT)  babyboomer57 | 12/22/09
Hold Your Partner!  windozefreak | 12/22/09
Not exactly  TroutHound | 12/22/09
IE is bundled with the OS  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
Ahem ... Mozilla  daengbo | 12/22/09
This is misinterpretation, IE still ahead of Firefox  alokgovil | 12/21/09
Exactly!  clindhartsen | 12/21/09
IE still ahead in total, but losing some ground  ac2_z | 12/21/09
Agreed, chart is misleading  dpatjhh | 12/22/09
This is misinterpretation, IE still ahead of Firefox  randmart | 12/22/09
Statistics and Lies  clap_clap@... | 12/22/09
This is misinterpretation, IE still ahead of Firefox  ICUR12 | 12/22/09
Wow, that's very scientific!  lam6156-temp@... | 12/24/09
Even Firefox at 32%...  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
Not quite true  sharkura | 12/23/09
Phoenix 0.3  Santos_L_Halper | 12/21/09
This isn't important to MS. They don't make money from IE...  transposeIT | 12/21/09
Actually it is  eMJayy | 12/21/09
You're talking about "back in the day"...  rock06r | 12/22/09
The IT world is Linux anyway...  TristanGrimaux | 12/23/09
I agree 100% with eMJayy's opinion  maxtheitpro | 01/15/10
It IS important to MS  honeymonster | 12/21/09
MS is cutting and runing from the browser  NonZealot | 12/21/09
If it is not  Viva la crank dodo | 12/21/09
Browser no longer differentiating factor  NonZealot | 12/21/09
Agree in part  Viva la crank dodo | 12/22/09
Of course NonZealot doesn't think the browser's important anymore  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
If standards are not progressing *too* fast  honeymonster | 12/22/09
Except we've already seen where browser lock-in leads.  Zogg | 12/22/09
When Redmond has embedded itself into their DNA  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
But who is locking them in?  Lester Young | 12/22/09
It probably seemed like a good idea at the time.  Zogg | 12/23/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  dprozzo | 12/21/09
Firefox also broken down  daengbo | 12/22/09
Your world is very small....  Nsaf | 12/21/09
Very understandable. Who wants to be seen as a 'microsoftie'?  FrankyBin8 | 12/21/09
But "Kool" don't run corporations and make "money.  windozefreak | 12/22/09
Plenty of people...  baboddonggae | 12/22/09
No, greed & breaking anti-trust laws do  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
Good point, bad analogy  Mohave Skye | 01/08/10
Really?  baboddonggae | 12/21/09
Lack of true IE7Pro support in IE8...  ZStoner | 12/21/09
other (dotted)  keebaud@... | 12/22/09
Free software = Higher paying careers!  linux_kernel | 12/22/09
Firefox is also the most buggy and most vulnerable browser  honeymonster | 12/22/09
Paid for by MS bots  linux_kernel | 12/22/09
And you can prove that then? -NT-  jdbukis@... | 12/22/09
Security Vulnerabilities: Firefox 44%, Safari 35%, IE 15%  NameRedacted | 12/22/09
Care to post the FUD...  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
Here's your "FUD."  Lester Young | 12/22/09
Cenzic?  Wintel BSOD | 12/23/09
A couple of important points  DarkPhoenixFF4 | 12/22/09
Idiocy  daengbo | 12/22/09
True that  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
Sad but true.  Lester Young | 12/22/09
Sure can by de-brainwashing MS Bots  linux_kernel | 12/22/09
Doesnt change the fact that FF has daar more security vulnerabilities  Johnny Vegas | 12/22/09
Fuzzy math  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
Bullshiz... lol M$ still using ActiveX! haha grin  i2fun@... | 12/23/09
IE is slow, buggy, bulky  brad1000 | 12/22/09
Hardly  Cayble | 12/22/09
ActiveX & other propritary tools are what keeps IE alive  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
An Order of Magnitude  daengbo | 12/22/09
You couldn't be more wrong  woofa | 12/22/09
LOL!  DErentzen | 12/22/09
I prefer FireFox  voska1 | 12/22/09
Best of all...  SystemVoid | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  keith@... | 12/22/09
ditto for......  TJGodel | 12/22/09
Totally agree  elCharles | 02/04/10
Misleading headline  desbarats81@... | 12/22/09
Still lots of web apps being made where customer MUST use IE  ggibson1 | 12/22/09
FF is still a choice even when a site demands IE  n0oeg | 12/22/09
Vendor lock-in  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
Huh?  elCharles | 02/04/10
This is so silly...  r.u.FED.up.2 | 12/22/09
Contrasting Mozilla with Adobe  dweil@... | 12/22/09
Bad statistics, bad article  RDrr | 12/22/09
Bad statistics, bad article  randmart | 12/22/09
StatCounter explains its statistics as follows :  mhenriday | 12/22/09
Misleading Headline and Article  dl@... | 12/22/09
Misleading Headline and Article  randmart | 12/22/09
The agenda is traffic...  adornoe@... | 12/22/09
Well I don't know about you...  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  steve@... | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  lkujala | 12/22/09
Graphs are not always easy to read, Ikujala,  mhenriday | 12/22/09
The headline is a flat out lie  M.W.H. | 12/22/09
FF vs IE  puppadave | 12/22/09
Grammar checking Adrian...  PollyProteus | 12/22/09
Proof-reading is not ZDNet's strong point  spyder3010 | 12/22/09
What about  Le Br? | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  bloviator | 12/22/09
StatCounter uses pageloads, not downloads  techrepublic@... | 12/22/09
StatCounter uses pageloads, not downloads  bloviator | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  jimk_z | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  rodm31@... | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  mashoknlg | 12/22/09
That's certainly been my experience  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
"Lies, damned lies, and statistics"  rpiddocke | 12/22/09
ditto for......  TJGodel | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  bludwitzke | 12/22/09
re  jimk_z | 12/22/09
Too bad it's still awful.  Spiritusindomit@... | 12/22/09
IE is your problem in regards to rendering  jimk_z | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  luisramirez99@... | 12/22/09
I dont care  Crestview | 12/22/09
You tell us, boy!  Wintel BSOD | 12/22/09
RE: What Proof Reader!  The Rifleman | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3x Sucks  MeGaMiPs | 12/22/09
Good for you...  bbneo | 12/23/09
Enough with the BS headlines and stories!!!  hoos30 | 12/22/09
The more security holes....  bjbrock | 12/22/09
re  jimk_z | 12/22/09
Firefox  Midnight04 | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  vkelman@... | 12/22/09
if the firefox is so good, why are they not selling it as a product?  digish777 | 12/22/09
Look at history  daengbo | 12/22/09
...and ironically, it's no longer the best  gigabot71 | 12/22/09
Performance is important, but it isn't the end all  mdsock@... | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  digish777 | 12/22/09
Chrome Beta  Le Br? | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  chefp | 12/22/09
Misleading Article  royswan | 12/22/09
Lies, Damn Lies,...  burtoni | 12/22/09
Even just by eye  woofa | 12/22/09
Lies, Damn Lies,...  Leans_To_Center | 12/22/09
Well,  joe.smetona@... | 12/22/09
Why does this matter?  cwallen19803@... | 12/22/09
Crapping out how?  rsklein | 12/22/09
Probably from an add-in  woofa | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  joe.smetona@... | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  phatkat | 12/22/09
Browser War  DustyU | 12/22/09
Reply to Opera lovers complaints  support@... | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  jimzim | 12/22/09
... but what does 'Most Popular' MEAN?!  glsmith10@... | 12/22/09
'Most Popular' means...  NameRedacted | 12/22/09
World most popular second tier browser  jinwpark@... | 12/22/09
wrong  macgroover | 12/22/09
nt  macgroover | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  very old techie | 12/22/09
Very Old Techie... Firefox 3.5....  mcerkas | 12/22/09
more browsers  very old techie | 12/22/09
Reasons  daengbo | 12/22/09
probably depends on where you get your data from  Erik van Uffelen | 12/22/09
Subject (max length: 75): FIREFOX ...duh!!!  btljooz | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  psquare11 | 12/22/09
I'm not surprised  jslarochelle | 12/22/09
I'm not surprised  jslarochelle | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  mattypoole | 12/22/09
Chrome security better than FF?  yonian | 12/22/09
Does this mean that MS won't have to comply  UsersRevil | 12/22/09
What is the best wine?  El Machete | 12/22/09
More importantly  sharkura | 12/23/09
Tell me this article is a joke  unkonventional | 12/22/09
Check your facts ...  sharkura | 12/23/09
My point exactly...  unkonventional | 01/06/10
Very good point on version -vs- browser  Mohave Skye | 01/08/10
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  psaravanabala@... | 12/22/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  jurgen.manycolored@... | 12/22/09
Where did you learn statistics?  archangel9999 | 12/23/09
Not quite true, again  sharkura | 12/23/09
More specifically ...  sharkura | 12/23/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  RenoT35 | 12/23/09
The browser doesn't dictate new web technology adoption  archangel9999 | 12/23/09
Haha - not suprized!!!  smtp4me@... | 12/23/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  dch48 | 12/23/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  laloriss | 12/23/09
Browser wars  freebird1974 | 12/26/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  freebird1974 | 12/26/09
And?  Wintel BSOD | 12/27/09
Didn't any of you jokers read the previous article?  lehnerus2000 | 12/26/09
what is most funny  inertman@... | 12/30/09
RE: Firefox 3.5: World's most popular browser  kmashraf | 12/31/09

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