Mobile Access To Internet Doubles as XP Usage Falls Below 50%

NetMarketShare is best known for measuring browser usage, collecting data on user visits to more than 40,000 websites.

But they also detect what operating system is running - and access to the Internet from a mobile operating system nearly doubled in total share from a year ago, to 5.5%.

And, in July 2011, users running XP fell to just below 50% for the first time in a very long time.  Windows 7 was responsible for 28% of the visits, and Vista only 9%.  This reflects a drop in Windows usage to below 90% from a year ago, down to about 87% from 91% one year ago, as Mac usage edged up towards 6%.

Meanwhile, in the browser wars, Google Chrome now represents 13.5% of user visits, with Internet Explorer at just under 53% and Firefox, about 21.5%.  Safari was used by 8%, and with Opera at under 2%, one must consider that even Safari is ahead of Opera among Windows users.  Most folks must still have not tried Opera, or even heard of it, because we continue to find it the fastest browser, though the least compatible from an add-on perspective.