iPhone to overtake Linux within 18 months

Since June 2008, the iPhone has more than tripled its market share, while Linux has merely added 0.18% to its customer base.

According to new figures from MarketShare, iPhone users accounted for just 0.16% of web users last June, but now total an impressive 0.55%. Linux, on the other hand, has grown from 0.8% to 1.02% share over the same period.

Mac users have increased from 7.94% to 9.73%, while Microsoft must be crying into its beer as its market share has plummeted to a derisory 87.9%.

But it is the seemingly-unstoppable rise of the iPhone that has industry watchers all-aquiver. Assuming the iPhone batteries don't explode and the displays don't crack, it looks very much as if Linux will be consigned to the dustbin of history before the decade is out.