Windows 7 market share tops 10 percent

[Night Owl]

Windows 7 hit another milestone this past weekend, with the operating system accounting for 1 in 10 computers accessing the Web, according to Net Applications.

Market share for a new Windows release often peaks on a weekend day, when consumer use is highest, then trends down again when the work week begins. Nonetheless, Windows 7 use has been trending quickly upward.

In less than a month on the market, Windows 7 had reached the 4 percent milestone--a level it took Windows Vista some seven months to reach. Windows 7 was launched on October 22.

Microsoft said as part of last week's earnings report that it shipped a record number of copies of Windows during the December quarter. "We are thrilled by the consumer reception to Windows 7 and by business enthusiasm to adopt Windows 7," Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner said in a statement.

Not surprisingly, the highest usage of Windows 7 is in the Redmond, Wash., area, where more than 15 percent of PCs are using the operating system.

One of the key questions, though, is whether Windows 7 will help Microsoft regain market share lost to Apple in recent years. So far, while Windows 7 use has grown quickly, market share for both Microsoft and Apple have remained relatively steady, according to Net Applications. As of January, all Windows versions accounted for 92.02 percent of devices accessing the Web, compared with 5.13 percent market share for the Mac.

In September, ahead of Windows 7's release, Windows had 92.77 percent of the market, compared to 5.12 percent for the Mac.

Source: CNET

[chlorophyll]

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