internet explorer

Windows Phone 8 sports the new web browser from Microsoft, Internet Explorer 10, but what's so noteworthy about this latest version from the company? It's labelled as the 'fastest version ever', and we've been fairly impressed with speed results the company has produced with IE in the past, ss what's new regarding web browsing on Windows Phone 8?

In an interview with OnSoftware, Jay Sullivan, VP of Products at Mozilla, insisted that Mozilla is not planning a version of Firefox for Windows Phone 7, but should we be bothered? Sure, Internet Explorer on the desktop has been continuously questioned/trashed by users, battered by EU to be uncoupled from Windows due to security concerns and more, but it's a fantastic implementation on WP7. 

At the moment we are focusing on Android in terms of the browser. For those other platforms we may do things like Firefox Home, so you can fire up any browser and get to your Firefox data. We’re not looking to bringing Firefox itself to Windows Phone 7 at this point.

Microsoft are working hard to bring the ancient browser up-to-date with current standards of speed, reliability, security and computability. Our Tim Ferrill wrote an article on why we should care about IE9 on WP7. So is Firefox really needed on the platform?

We've witnessed more and more readers voice opinions that they prefer IE even over the stock Android browser, which is no slouch. How about you? Do you want to see Firefox on Windows Phone 7, or are you content with IE and how Microsoft are developing it?

Source: OnSoftware , via: Softpedia

(Ed Note: Malatesta, who has used IE6 on the Sprint Treo Pro, chimes in with his thoughts on the recent question of what it means that it comes on the CDMA Treo Pro on WM 6.1 but no upgrade path will be available for others.  I have just received a review unit of the Sprint Treo Pro which may include some improvements over the original ROM - stay tuned for that. In the meantime, Mal tells us "what we need to know" and it's not what you might expect. --Dieter)

Microsoft has revealed details on the much-hyped Internet Explorer Mobile 6 (IEM6), which is also making its official debut within the next 2 weeks with the Sprint Treo Pro (no word on Alltel’s version).

To recap what we know and has happened so far with IE6, lets go down memory lane:

• March/April ’08: Adobe licenses Flash Lite to MS for future version of IEM; Announced at CTIA
• Nov. ’08: WMExperts gets screenshots of IEM6 on Treo Pro; Microsoft announces (again) IEM6 at Tech•Ed EMEA
• Dec. ’08: IEM6 gets cooked into ROMs
• Feb. ’09: An even newer version of IEM6 for WM6.5 is demoed at MWC; leaked a few days later
• March ’09: Sprint Treo Pro to be first official device with IEM6

Yes folks, that was one year in the making for what is arguable a very marginal update. Now in fairness to Microsoft, there are actually a ton of changes to the internal code of IEM6. But for the end-user, it remains to be seen if these changes are significant.

Read on to catch up on Microsoft's latest browser and our hands-on opinion!

Seems like PC World got a chance to write a bit of a fluff piece on Microsoft's new upcoming mobile web browser for WM (see past coverage here), while a lot of it is good for a chuckle, some interesting bits came out:

• Requires 128MB of RAM, and a 400MHz processor
• Still won't be a separate download (device needs ROM flash)
• First release will be on phones with mobile operator China Mobile "sometime in 2009"

Also, they got some insight from Web developer Bruce Lawson, with the non-profit Web Standards Project, who had some not so pleasent words about the new browser after he put it through the wringer (spoiler alert: it didn't do well):

"...This is a terrible situation," he wrote. "Twenty percent of the world's population [China] are being offered an ancient, discredited browser."

Ouch--don't hold back Bruce!  Read more for some of the nitty-gritty.

Gizmodo.com has been busy testing browsers on Windows Mobile devices asking the question,