Firefox 3.0 Smashes Download Records

By Greg McNevin

June 23, 2008: Firefox 3.0 is out, and has well and truly broken the five million download record goal, notching up well over eight million downloads in the first 24 hours despite some hefty server problems.

What’s more, the popular open source browser showed just how popular it is by surging to over 14 million downloads by the end of the week.

With faster operation, a plethora of handy new features and a new robust security system, Firefox is in better shape than ever to take on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer juggernaut, and with 18.1 percent of the browser market to call its own in May of this year – just before the release of version 3.0 – it certainly looks like it will give IE a run for its money.

Analysts are certainly predicting it will, with a figure of 30 percent of the world market being mentioned as a possibility by year’s end.

This is still but half of IE’s 70 percent, but if the Firefox train keeps on picking up passengers then the gap will close very quickly indeed.

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