market

Mozilla's Firefox is in the news this week and not for any positive reasons. The web browser slipped to third in the market behind Google's Chrome, and there's speculation a major financial backer of the browser may pull out. If so, that could be ... the end of the popular web browser. News on market share comes from Statcounter, which tracks visitors to about three million websites and collates this data to provide credible estimates of online usage. Google Chrome Usage Up 550% in 2 Years The company's figures for November show that Google's Chrome is used by 25.69 per cent of people worldwide ( ... (view more)

A Nokia executive recently let slip that next summer the firm will release a tablet computer running Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system. In an interview with a French newspaper, Paul Amsellem, who heads up Nokia France, was quoted as ... saying: "In June 2012, we will have a tablet that runs on Windows 8." (Source: fnno.com ) In an effort to reduce speculation and diminish the impact of Amsellem's lip-slip, a Nokia spokesperson later retracted the statement and told the media: "We have not announced any specific plans as it relates to tablets." Not the First Hint at a Nokia Windows 8 ... (view more)

Microsoft has recently released the first major overhaul of its Windows Phone operating system and it's getting some generally good reviews. The revised system is powering a range of devices, including the first significant results of the ... Nokia-Microsoft partnership. Windows Phone 7, released late last year, was a much-delayed revamp of what had previously been Windows Mobile. Although the system was generally praised, it appeared to come far too late to overcome a significant loss of market share to systems such as Apple's iOS and Google's Android. Sales of the Windows Phone 7 handsets thus ... (view more)

This week, Walmart announced it would bow out of the digital music business , presumably because competition from Apple's iTunes proved too fierce. Now, it appears Apple's dominance of another market is forcing hardware firm Hewlett-Packard (HP) to ... take drastic action. HP has announced it will cut $100 from the price of its tablet PC, the TouchPad. The cost of the 16GB TouchPad tablet has dropped from $500 to $400, while the 32GB edition goes from $600 to $500. That means both choices are available for roughly $100 less than comparable iPads from Apple. (Source: wsj.com ) Apple iPad Market ... (view more)

For the first time in years, Microsoft's Windows XP operating system has sunk below a majority share of the operating system market. The report comes just as a new study finds that Microsoft Internet Explorer users are slightly less savvy than users ... of other web browsers. According to Microsoft, Windows XP is now used by 49.84 per cent of all Internet users world-wide. Although the operating system (OS) is still the most widely-used system in the world, that percentage of the total market represents its lowest point in several years. Luckily for Microsoft, the damage hasn't been done by ... (view more)

Apple has once again lashed out against Amazon in the midst of their ongoing litigation battle, this time calling Amazon's idea for an appstore "inferior" by comparison to the established Apple offering. Issues arose back in mid-March when Apple ... filed for a lawsuit against Amazon over trademark infringement concerning the term "appstore". Amazon says the label was generic and that Apple had only sought litigation to hurt their competition. In January of this year, Microsoft filed a petition for similar reasons. Apple Looks to Monopolize "App Store" Label Apple has since countered these claims ... (view more)

"Don't get too used to the way Windows looks" was the message relayed by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at a recent Houston Technology Center luncheon. Ballmer says he figures the Windows operating system (OS) found on most PCs right now will look a ... whole lot different in just five years time. Windows "will look a lot different and it will run different applications," Ballmer told members of the local business community during a presentation at Union Square in Houston's Minute Maid Park. With many new technology innovations making their way into mainstream, MS Windows needs to keep up ... (view more)

Recently, well-known analysts The Nielson Company asked nearly 15,000 Americans which mobile operating system they were currently using. Although several leading platforms scored very well, Google's Android narrowly took first place. The Nielson ... Company polled 14,701 Americans, asking each participant (who was also a postpaid mobile subscriber) what mobile OS was running on their primary smartphones. The race was a close one: 29 per cent reported using an Android-based device, 27 per cent said they use an (Apple) iOS phone, and another 27 per cent said they own a RIM (Reasearch in Motion) ... (view more)

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Google's Chrome operating system (OS) took one step closer to wider release recently when the company announced it had begun shipping netbooks equipped with the operating system to selected beta testers. But despite reports (mostly from Google) that ... Chrome will trump Windows' speed and security features, at least one analyst says there's nothing for Microsoft to fear just yet. In a presentation to announce Chrome OS' move toward more rigorous testing, Google CEO Eric Schmidt pointed to the operating system's faster startup and installation times, in addition to impressive security features, ... (view more)