Windows 8 market share jumped in December

December was a good month for Microsoft's new operating system, with Windows 8's market share leapfrogging Linux to claim the number seven spot.

Data released by Web metric firm Net Applications shows that over the course of December the Windows 8 market share grew to 1.72 percent, up from 1.09 percent in November.

The leap in market share puts Windows 8 ahead of Linux, but behind Mac OS X 10.8, OS X 10.7, and OS X 10.6, and far behind Windows 7, Windows XP, and even Windows Vista.

December wasn't just good for Windows 8, with Windows 7 also seeing a small bump in market share, up from 44.71 percent to 45.11 percent. This was to be expected as December is usually a good month for PC sales thanks to the holiday season.

Microsoft's Windows RT platform, which can be found on tablets such as the Surface, also makes an appearance in the listing, with a market share of 0.01 percent.

According to a separate report released by AdDuplex, an ad network specializing in advertisements for Windows Phone and Windows 8/RT applications, Microsoft's Surface tablet is the single most popular device running the new platform.

December was also the first month since February 2012 where the overall Windows market share grew, to 91.74 percent, from 91.45 percent in November. Coincidentally, it is also the first time since February 2012 that Apple's OS X has seen a decline in market share, which now stands at 7.07 percent, down from 7.3 percent in November.

Back in November of 2012, a report by Web metrics firm StatCounter suggested that Windows 8 license sales were not yet translating into usage since its Web market share was trailing significantly behind what Windows 7 had achieved one month after launch.

Net Applications data is based on 160 million unique visitors each month to some 40,000 Web sites which the company monitors for its clients.

Source : zdnet