Windows 7 takes 10% market share, three months after its release

In its three months since general availability, Microsoft's Windows 7 accounts for 1 in 10 PCs accessing the Internet today according to figures from Net Applications.

In comparison Windows Vista averages at around 20% market share and Windows XP between 60-70%. According to CNET a month after Windows 7's launch it had reached 4% market share, a level that took Windows Vista seven months to achieve.

Microsoft reported a record quarter for Windows units in Q2 2010. Last week, Microsoft officials confirmed they had sold more than 60 million Windows 7 licenses in the second quarter making it the fastest selling operating system in history. Microsoft released Windows 7 on October 22, 2009. The operating system has received praise from consumers, businesses and the media. In November 2009, Windows 7 managed to surpass Apple's Snow Leopard market share in just two weeks.

Screenshots of a Windows 7 post RTM build have shown up on the web this week fueling speculation that Microsoft is compiling early Windows 8 builds. The successor to Windows 7 will likely be available in 2011 as an ex-Microsoft worker penned July 2011 as the RTM date for Windows 8 last week.

Microsoft is currently readying its first Service Pack for Windows 7. A beta version is expected in June with a public release in September this year.