In just over a year since its release to manufacturer (RTM), Windows 7 has managed to surpass Windows Vista in total market share worldwide.
According to Statscounter.com, Windows 7 managed to take 20.09% total market share, while Vista has now sunk to 19.41% worldwide. Windows Vista released to manufacturer in November 2006, and shipped to retail in January 2007. Windows 7 managed to surpass Windows Vista in as little as 12 months, even with Vista being released more than two and a half years earlier, selling more than 175 million licenses.
Windows XP still dominates the market with 53.92%, but is quickly declining month-over-month as users are quickly adopting Windows 7. Windows XP has lost as much as 24% over the last year since Windows 7 has been released.
Microsoft"s success with Windows 7 began before the product was even widely available. Released in October 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. In early February, it was revealed that Windows 7 had reached 10% market share in just three months.
Not only is Windows 7 a huge success, but Microsoft has seen a big uprising of Internet Explorer 8 use, which is still the most popular web browser on the market. Don"t forget that Internet Explorer 9 is just around the corner.