Net users abandon browsers
Most users now go online using non-browser applications, say December figures from Nielsen//NetRatings.
Media players and instant-messaging applications are now by far the most popular internet applications for 76% of active internet users, it states.
Functionality has grown beyond the browser to become a fundamental piece of the overall desktop, adds the company, quoted in a silicon.com report here.
The most popular application was Windows Media Player, reaching 34% of Net users; AOL Instant Messenger – 20.27%; RealNetworks’ players – 19.76%; MSN Messenger – 19.31%; and, Yahoo! Messenger – 12.26%.
