Microsoft has recently taken the wrapping paper off of IE9 and released it to the world for public consumption. The browser offers many new features and a revamped user interface that has been receiving generally positive reception from its end users.
Naturally, Microsoft has been quite pleased with the growth and adoption rate that the browser has been receiving. Currently IE9 holds 3.6% usage share on Windows 7 and is continuing to grow at a rapid pace, Microsoft states on their blog:
According to Net Applications’ latest data, worldwide, IE9 share on Windows 7 reached 3.6% for the month of March. The combination of IE9 and Windows 7 with the PC creates the best experience for users of the web and the developers and designers that create those sites. The adoption rate of IE9 is about five times higher then what we saw for Internet Explorer 8 in the same time frame.
For Microsoft, IE9 is their latest browser to combat market share loss at the expense of Chrome and Firefox. If user reactions are anything to judge the future success of the platform on, it looks like Microsoft has produced a solid browser for the marketplace. Of course, any browser must face the test of time, and with Firefox 4 recently released, Microsoft is not the only kid on the block with a new browser.