Internet Explorer 9 has been downloaded some 2.35 million times in the first 24 hours of its launch this week, says Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). Microsoft's Ryan Gavin was clearly excited when he wrote on the official Explorer IE blog: "That is over 27 downloads every second, or over 240 downloads every 9 seconds. Wow." 

Compared to the 1 million downloads that the beta of IE9 achieved in the first 24 hours, it is a clear cause for celebration. However, Ian Paul of PCWorld is less impressed, observing that Firefox 3 was downloaded more than 8 million times in its first day back in 2008.

While there is little doubt that IE9 offers superior usability, speed and security compared with earlier versions of the Internet Explorer browser, some are questioning whether IE9 is too little, too late. IE commands 56.77 percent of the market today, a significant decline from its heyday of 68.46 percent just two years back. 

Also, IE9's lack of compatibility with Windows XP has also proved to be a point of contention for supporters on older systems--and could well result in some users switching to competing browsers. While it is understandable that Microsoft wants users to migrate to a newer version of Windows, Windows XP still accounts for the majority of Windows PCs today.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at eWeek
- check out this article at MSNBC
- check out this article at PCWorld

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