Chinese browsers are putting the heat on Internet Explorer
- Source: Global Times
- [00:36 September 08 2009]
- Comments
By Zhao Qian
Microsoft melting
Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser, which once dominated the Chinese Internet world with 96 percent of the market, has seen its share shrink to 57.8 percent due to the growing popularity of domestic brands.
It's the lowest level in Microsoft's history in China as domestic brands such as Maxthon,Tencent TT and Qihoo360's 360 Secured Browser now account for 31.1 percent of the country's browser market, according to data by iResearch.
The 360 Secured Browser's share has increased 50 percent from each previous quarter for three consecutive quarters, with its market share currently at 8.4 percent, iResearch said.
"According to my research, nearly 96 percent of China's Internet users have used an IE browser at some time in their lives, but only 50 percent of them keep to it regularly now," Ding Li, an iResearch analyst who collected the data told the Global Times. Ding added that a Microsoft insider told him that the company's market share in China dropped again in the first half of 2009, but "the exact percentage hasn't been disclosed."
Ding also added that, before Maxthon and Tencent TT were launched in China in 2004 and 360 Secured Browser was available in 2008, the Microsoft IE browser was king with only a small number of users opting for other foreign browsers such as Firefox or Opera.
