Microsoft has been hitting the rough patches a lot lately. Its pre-update update for Windows Phone 7 met more than its fair share of bumps and has certainly not made a good impression.
The company also pulled the plug on its Zune hardware. However, among these dark clouds, it has a faint ray of sunshine in the form of IE9. Yes, the most widely used browser is up to its 9th version and we could not help feeling a little too pleasantly surprised with the company's latest offering.
Gaj-it’s First Impressions
Design
Microsoft has finally rolled out its IE9 and the first thing you notice about the browser is its sleek, minimalist look. Microsoft certainly deserves a pat on its back for the cool aesthetics.
Speed
The speed is also far better than its predecessor IE8 and the new browser comes with a very handy utility, which tells you the load time for various add-ons. So, if you find a particular add-on guilty of adding unreasonable load time, then you can disable that add-on. However, even after disabling a few add-ons, the browser speed was still lagging behind Chrome's.
Security
Microsoft has also emphasized the security factor and had malware protection feature to its download manager. Apart from this, it also supports the Do Not Track feature. It also enables fast graphics downloading using hardware acceleration and you also get the option to disable ActiveX controls.
Other Features
Another good feature is related to site pinning, which lets you open a web shortcut as a Windows app. Google Chrome already has this element and it is a great feature for people who just need to have their fix of LOL cats every 10 minutes.
The Stats
Despite the fact that the new browser is available only for Windows Vista and Windows 7 users, it has already been downloaded 2.35 million times within 24 hours of its release. The new features of the browser may not be enough to lure the users away from competing browsers, but Microsoft certainly deserves praise for a job well done.