The first Beta version of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9 Beta) became available for download on the 15th of September. A few days later Redmond-based software developer Microsoft came out to announce that the launch of IE9 Beta was a big success. As Group Product Planer with Microsoft Roger Capriotti explained at the time, in the first 2 days following the release of IE9, more than 2 million people downloaded the browser. The Beauty of the Web site, which Microsoft set up to tout IE9’s capabilities, registered more than 9 million visits and more than 26 million page views.
Microsoft is once again touting IE9 Beta’s success. Senior Director with Internet Explorer Business and Marketing, Ryan Gavin, announced that as of October 1, IE9 Beta has been downloaded more than 6 million times. The Beauty of the Web site has registered more than 30 million page views.
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Just to put things in perspective, this means that IE9 Beta was downloaded more than 6 million times in just two weeks after its launch. That is something, especially when you compare it to the IE8 Beta downloads – Richard Gavin explains:
“As of today [October 1], IE9 Beta has been downloaded 6 million times, which is two and half times what we saw with IE8 Beta in a similar timeframe.”
In case this is the first time you’re hearing about IE9 Beta and you’re curious to find out what the browser has to offer, here are the main highlights:
- IE9 Beta comes with a fresh new UI (user interface) that, as Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President for Internet Explorer, Dean Hachamovitch said, is meant to put the focus on the site, not the browser. - You can pin websites to the Windows 7 taskbar - The New Tab Page displays the sites you visit most often (like Opera's Speed Dial) - All notifications are displayed at the bottom of the page - Tear-off tabs feature that allows you to snap pages side-by-side using Windows Aero Snap - Tabs that are related are color coded - Add-on Performance Advisor identifies add-ons that may be slowing down your browser - IE9 Beta has a new, faster JavaScript engine - IE9 Beta provides support for HTML5.
If you would like to get IE9 Beta, you can download the browser from the above mentioned Beauty of the Web site; or you can get the browser in your native language from here.
The first Beta version of Internet Explorer 9 (