Internet Viewing Trends
I'm Just Looking: Browser Usage, Operating Systems and Screen Resolution Trends
For more information, contact Eliot Spindel
Eliot
Spindel is the webmaster for The
Sierra Group, Inc.. Eliot is knowledgeable on issues relating to web
accessibility and standards.
Browsers:
According to industry reports, here is a breakdown on current browser usage.
- Internet Explorer 6 is the most common browser
- Mozilla Firefox is increasing, approximately 20-30% of the market
- To share of Internet Explorer 7 is increasing, expect it to increase gradually as users adopt the new Microsoft Vista operating system
Because Microsoft embeds Internet Explorer in their operating system, expect it to remain the leader among browsers for quite awhile. As users adopt Microsoft's new operating system, Vista, expect Internet Explorer 7 to become the most common browser. It also works with Windows XP and allegedly is safer than Internet Explorer 6. Mozilla Firefox has gradually increased its market share, and this trend may continue as more and more people learn about its safety, plug-ins, extensions and frequent updates.
Operating Systems:
- Windows is 90% of the market
- Windows XP is most common
- expect Windows Vista to gradually increase after release February, 2007
Windows is by far the most dominant operating system on the market and will probably remain so for quite a while. Users of Macs remain a small percentage of the market but are loyal. Many also have a Windows computer as well. Mac now offers a way to use Windows on a Mac by installing "boot camp" or "parallels."
Screen Resolution:
- 1024 x 768 is the most common screen resolution
- most users use 1024 x 768 or higher
- a small amount of computers still only have 800 x 600
Color displays:
- Most computers used 24 or 32-bit software to display 16,777,216 different colors
- older computers and laptops often use a 16-bit display with a maximum of 65,536 different colors
- Handheld computers (and very old computers) often use 8 bits color hardware. This gives a maximum of 256 colors.
As the Internet provides more multimedia content and users begin to view more and more video content on their computers as opposed to the televisions, expect larger monitors with larger screen resolutions and the use of a greater amount of different colors.
If you have comments or questions about this overview, please email Eliot Spindel
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