Firefox Soars and Apple's Safari Jumps as 2005 Browser Share Race
Leads to a Powerful Finish

ALISO VIEJO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 5, 2006--NetApplications, a
provider of Web-based applications that measure, monitor and market
Web sites for Small to Medium Enterprises (SME), today announced its
monthly Web site browser statistics for year-end 2005.


2005 marked the return of the Browser Battles, as Microsoft Internet
Explorer faced heated challenges from Firefox, Safari, Netscape and
Opera.

Microsoft Internet Explorer ended 2004 with 90.31% browser usage
market share, and steadily lost ground, ending 2005 with 85.05% market
share. Microsoft promises IE's first major upgrade in years in 2006,
but has also announced that it is abandoning the Mac version of IE.

Mozilla Firefox championed the open source browser concept and is the
primary challenger to IE's dominance. Firefox ended 2004 with 4.64%
market share and although it started 2005 on fire, it cooled off
during the summer months. Toward the end of the year, after releasing
Firefox 1.5, it regained its momentum and closed the year at an
impressive 9.57%.

Apple's Safari browser enjoyed a highly successful 2005 as the only
browser to gain market share each and every month of the year. Safari
ended 2004 in fourth place with 1.56% market share. Safari gained
steadily to end 2005, and leaped past Netscape to grab the third
leading browser spot at 3.07% market share.

Netscape joined IE as the only browsers to lose market share in 2005.
Netscape ended 2004 with 2.07% of browser usage market share, and was
the third leading browser at the time. After an admitted error in
reporting itself as either Firefox or IE was discovered and fixed, and
an announced deal with HP to include Netscape browsers with new
computers, Netscape enjoyed a brief surge in September to 2.16%.
However, Netscape ended 2005 in 4th place with 1.24% browser usage
market share.

Opera browser from Opera Software ended 2005 with 0.55% browser usage
market share, which is exactly where it ended in 2004. Opera held
steady while it completely changed its business model, going from a
choice of a free browser with banner ads or a paid browser without the
banners to a free browser without ads model. Opera browser maintains a
strong presence on handhelds, and as those devices start to become
more prominent, Opera is well-placed to take advantage of it.

"The close of 2005 marks the end of the calendar year, but also sets
the stage for a very interesting 2006," observed Vince Vizzaccaro,
executive vice president of marketing and strategic relationships at
NetApplications. "While any company would be thrilled to hold
Microsoft's 85% market share, IE can not rest lightly. Netscape also
once owned a huge percentage prior to IE's debut."

Vizzaccaro continued, "FireFox is very close to hitting a critical
mass of 10% which could mean a more rapid adoption rate. However, IE
won't go away quietly as major, and long overdue upgrades are expected
to be released in 2006. With Microsoft abandoning the Mac, combined
with Apple's continuing market share gains, Safari has even more room
to grow. Netscape seems to have been hit hard by Firefox's success, so
2006 will test the company's vigilance to hold on to and increase its
user-base."

December Browser Market Share:

Microsoft Internet Explorer -- 85.05%

FireFox -- 9.57%

Safari -- 3.07%

Netscape -- 1.24%

Opera -- 0.55%

Other -- 0.53%

November Browser Market Share:

Microsoft Internet Explorer -- 86.08%

FireFox -- 8.84%

Safari -- 2.78%

Netscape -- 1.25%

Opera -- 0.53%

Other -- 0.43%

Additional statistics are available at http://marketshare.hitslink.com.

HitsLink(tm) is NetApplications' flagship product, providing advanced
website statistics and analysis for webmasters and eMarketers alike.

The HitsLink Enterprise Service starts at $14.95 per monthly
subscription. A free trial is available at www.HitsLink.com/trial.

About NetApplications

Since 1999 NetApplications has been a leading source of tools and
utilities for webmasters and eMarketers for small to medium enterprise
(SME). The company has a complete suite of simple and affordable
subscription-based applications that are designed to help users have
greater success with their Web site marketing efforts. Headquartered
in Aliso Viejo, California, NetApplications distributes its services
through over 3,000 partners and affiliates. These services may also be
found at www.netapplications.com, www.hitslink.com, www.submitter.net,
www.publishplus.com, www.1stwarning.com and www.toolshack.com.