iOS Passes Linux to Become Third-Most Popular Browsing Platform

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

iOS Passes Linux to Become Third-Most Popular Internet Browsing Platform

As noted by Computerworld, Internet research firm Net Applications has calculated that Apple's iOS has passed Linux to become the third-most popular Internet platform, surpassing Linux to trail only Windows and Mac OS X. According to Net Applications, the milestone came in July, when the release of the iPhone 4 apparently created a surge for iOS past 1% market share while Linux dropped below 1%. The trend continued in August, with iOS taking a 1.13% share compared to Linux's 0.85% share.

"It's something to take note of when a mobile operating system passes something that's been around forever," said Vince Vizzaccaro, a Net Applications vice president, talking about iOS overtaking Linux. "Mobile's growth curve is strong, and mobile is becoming quite a phenomenon on the Internet."

Net Applications, which measures data from actual browser usage based on network of 40,000 websites that it monitors, found that mobile platforms accounted for 2.6% of the overall Web usage last month. The data also revealed much stronger Web usage for iOS than for Android, which clocked in at only 0.2% share.

Android devices made up just 0.2% of the operating systems that powered browsers Net Applications tracked last month. "Whatever the sales are, we're seeing iOS totally dominate the market on the Web," Vizzaccaro said. "iOS has nearly a 6:1 advantage over Android."

Source: Mac Rumors

[grik]

I think Linux is going to be used just for some, its going down. 13 years ago i started to mess in linux, and till now, few things are diferent, its nice to have opensource free software but you dont keep the standards like this.

It continues to have limitations, i dont understand how this be, at most this OS should had no limitations.

Too bad, but this wont go far, and will soon stay with a slice of market, very small to the workstations and good servers, but not for personal use.

This is just my opinion, cause iv been vigilant about this evolution that hasn't evolve much, at least as well as the "competition.

Thanks

[FloatingFatMan]

You can't possibly compare a mobile OS with a desktop OS, the markets are completely different.

Also, I'd like to see some examples of these 40,000 websites they supposedly monitor. The kind of people who buy Android devices might not care for those 40,000 sites if they're focused more towards Apple products...

[wellofsouls]

You can't possibly compare a mobile OS with a desktop OS, the markets are completely different.

Also, I'd like to see some examples of these 40,000 websites they supposedly monitor. The kind of people who buy Android devices might not care for those 40,000 sites if they're focused more towards Apple products...

well, mobile OS users should be browsing less than desktop OS users, so it's even more outstanding when a mobile OS has more browser usage than a desktop OS.

you can see some more famous of the sites in the middle of this page:

http://marketshare.hitslink.com/

It does have Apple as one of its customers, but then there are many other large sites that all kinds of people want to visit too...

[ObiWanToby]

well, mobile OS users should be browsing less than desktop OS users, so it's even more outstanding when a mobile OS has more browser usage than a desktop OS.

you can see some more famous of the sites in the middle of this page:

http://marketshare.hitslink.com/

It does have Apple as one of its customers, but then there are many other large sites that all kinds of people want to visit too...

It is staggering that a mobile OS topples a desktop OS. Not surprising though considering the small install base of linux.

[SaltLife]

What, they're comparing a mobil browsing platform to the linux desktop? How about they be fair and use Android in those figures as well... Because this is an extremely biased article.

[Slacker]

It looks to me like Android is in there too. Isn't it the blur graph on the bottom?

If this article is presenting repeatable fact, I don't think that there is a bias.

[Ilgauskas]

What, they're comparing a mobil browsing platform to the linux desktop? How about they be fair and use Android in those figures as well... Because this is an extremely biased article.

The article mentioned by OP is based on this piece of data by Netmarketshare which includes Android as well. So I hardly consider this a bias. It's just strange that we don't see linux zealots here who claimed that "2010 will be the year of the LINUX!!!!"

[what]

Haha, that's pretty funny, actually. Just shows how good Linux is in the home.

[SaltLife]

The article mentioned by OP is based on this piece of data by Netmarketshare which includes Android as well. So I hardly consider this a bias. It's just strange that we don't see linux zealots here who claimed that "2010 will be the year of the LINUX!!!!"

LOL, sorry didn't catch the whole thing as I was walking out the door...

But either way, Android is based on Linux, at least the core. So why is it that it's not being credited towards the linux platform.

It's good to see Android is doing much better too, it's market share has been rapidly climbing since March...... However, iOS is truly dominating according to those figures.

[grik]

LOL, sorry didn't catch the whole thing as I was walking out the door...

But either way, Android is based on Linux, at least the core. So why is it that it's not being credited towards the linux platform.

It's good to see Android is doing much better too, it's market share has been rapidly climbing since March...... However, iOS is truly dominating according to those figures.

Exactly, Linux is great Core, and should stay has Core branded, not commercial products names. The Linux name is bashed and people associate Linux to complicated things, and people want simple with global apps, and linux is nothing but global when running apps or games etc...

Just my opinion,

Thanks for reading

[Melfster]

LOL, sorry didn't catch the whole thing as I was walking out the door...

But either way, Android is based on Linux, at least the core. So why is it that it's not being credited towards the linux platform.

It's good to see Android is doing much better too, it's market share has been rapidly climbing since March...... However, iOS is truly dominating according to those figures.

If you want to combine android and Linux then why not combine iOS and OS X (iOS is subset of OS X).

[CyberManifest]

LOL

A counter stat? http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/03/quantcast-mobile-web-browsing/

[Ilgauskas]

LOL

A counter stat? http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/03/quantcast-mobile-web-browsing/

You should read, that it points out iOS and Android usage in the US, not worldwide like Netmarketshare.

[Subject Delta]

I somehow doubt those figures, the massive amount of Android devices being activated does not tie in with such a ridiculously small marketshare.

[.Neo]

Next year will be the year of Linux!

:laugh: Sorry, couldn't keep a straight face...

[ichi]

I somehow doubt those figures, the massive amount of Android devices being activated does not tie in with such a ridiculously small marketshare.

Being activated doesn't imply being actively used for browsing, at least not as much as iphones or maybe just not on the sites where the metrics are being collected.

Personally the only browsing I do on my android phone is on a small bunch of sites I've on my bookmarks, which might or might not count for those stats.

[Subject Delta]

I don't really know, but I use my device for some browsing. The problem with stats like these, is that they are only accurate if the sites are as likely to be visited by mobile users as they are by desktop users, and that may not always be the case.

[tablet_user]

The article mentioned by OP is based on this piece of data by Netmarketshare which includes Android as well. So I hardly consider this a bias. It's just strange that we don't see linux zealots here who claimed that "2010 will be the year of the LINUX!!!!"

maybe after saying it for 15 yrs and being completely wrong they gave up. but i doubt it

[Growled Member]

There will never be a year of Linux. There, I said it.

As for iOS, I believe Mobile internet is the future and we are now seeing the first indications of that.

[wellofsouls]

I somehow doubt those figures, the massive amount of Android devices being activated does not tie in with such a ridiculously small marketshare.

it's browser usage, not installed base. And by "usage", it means that, it counts how much it's used to browse the web. Even if you browse the web with Android, do you use it to browse the web as much as desktops and notebooks? Say, everyday you browser 30 minutes on an Android device, but browse ten hours on a desktop, then desktop browser usage will be counted twenty times more than Android browser usage.

That's why mobile devices in general have an overall ridiculously small marketshare compared to desktops and notebooks. Even if you use your mobile phones to check emails and facebook at times, it's completely overshadowed by the hours of browsing on desktops and notebooks each day.

On the other hand, there may be a reason why iOS is used more in browsing than Android. Android phones are usually sold without unlimited data plans, while iPhone are usually sold with unlimited data plans. It's safe to say that most iPhone users have unlimited data plans, which means iPhone users are more likely to use it browsing the web. And iPad is almost purely for web browsing on the go. So I'm not surprised that iOS has such a high browser usage marketshare (for a mobile platform, that is)

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

There will never be a year of Linux. There, I said it.

As for iOS, I believe Mobile internet is the future and we are now seeing the first indications of that.

Pretty much. Just look at how well the iPad sells and how many people are using it instead of a netbook.

[tiagosilva29]

There will never be a year of Linux. There, I said it.

Every year is a year of

GNU/

Linux.

[Fish]

Just like how Firefox and Opera (and more recently Chrome) have eroded IE's dominance, mobile browsing is eating into desktop's slice of the pie. The headline looks dramatic, but it's not really surprising, to me at least.

[wellofsouls]

What, they're comparing a mobil browsing platform to the linux desktop? How about they be fair and use Android in those figures as well... Because this is an extremely biased article.

yup, it's comparing a mobile platform to the linux desktop platform, which is indeed extremely biased... towards the linux desktop platform... since desktop platforms are known to have much more browser usage than mobile platforms in general. Heck, more than 97% of the total browser usage comes from desktop platforms...