A Microsoft official said that the number of Microsoft Silverlight software users has finally reached an important critical point. More than 60% of all Internet devices have installed the software.
In a telephone interview, Brad Becker, product manager of the Microsoft Rich Client platform, said that this rich Internet application plug-in has seen a recent strong growth. In the past four months, the percentage of devices connected to the Silverlight client software has increased by 1/3, from 45% to 60%.
Finally, more than 50% of the message about Silverlight applications was posted after Microsoft added some new functions to the framework at its mix10 developer conference last week. With the release of Silverlight 4, Microsoft has made a huge step in extending the Silverlight client software from a desktop computer to a mobile device. Silverlight will become a real application platform for Windows Phone 7 smartphones. In addition to browser support on desktop computers, Microsoft has made it easier for enterprises to develop applications that can transmit data from PCs to mobile devices without creating multiple applications.
To expand its applications in the mobile field, Microsoft has added many new features for Silverlight, including support for multi-touch and support for accelerated tables, GPS-based microsoft location service and push notification service. This application framework also provides built-in microphone and camera audio and video capturing functions, allowing mobile developers to create VOIP and Real-Time Streaming video applications, competition with similar products such as Apple iPhone, Google Android, and blackberry.
From the perspective of application, Silverlight is still far behind Adobe Flash. Currently, 98% of PCs connected to the Internet Use Adobe Flash software. However, Becker said that the Silverlight application has finally reached a critical point. The question is not whether the platform will become popular and widely used among consumers, but when it will become popular and widely used.