Microsoft releases IE 10 browser for Windows 7

Advertisement
By Associated Press | Updated: 14 November 2012 10:09 IST
Microsoft releases IE 10 browser for Windows 7
The latest version of Microsoft's Web browser is now available to the vast audience connecting to the Internet on personal computers running on the Windows 7 operating system.

The redesigned browser, Internet Explorer 10, made its debut last month when Microsoft released Windows 8, which makes dramatic changes to an operating system that has been powering PCs for decades.

Internet Explorer 10 initially is being introduced Tuesday to Windows 7 users in a "preview," or test, mode. The new browser isn't compatible with XP, Vista and any other older Windows version.

Although Microsoft is staking its future on Windows 8, far more PCs rely on Windows 7. Microsoft Corp. says more than 670 million licenses for Windows 7 have been sold since its release in 2009. Windows 8 is unlikely to approach that level of usage until at least 2014, based on analyst forecasts.

Desktops, laptops and tablet computers running on Windows 8 are sold with Internet Explorer 10 already installed. Those with older Windows versions will have to download and install the new browser separately.

Advertisement

Although Internet Explorer 10 is supposed to process Web pages more quickly and smoothly than its predecessors, it may have limited appeal to Windows 7 users.

That's because Microsoft primarily designed Internet Explorer 10 for tablet computers and other devices, including a new breed of PCs that have touch-screen displays. Relatively few Windows 7 PCs can be controlled with fingers on a display screen.

Advertisement

Microsoft is hoping many website developers will download and install Internet Explorer 10 on their Windows 7 machines and see the browser's potential for making online services more compelling and dynamic. If that happens, more websites may include features that take advantage of Internet Explorer 10's full capabilities on the bevy of Windows 8 machines expected to be sold during the next year, said Ryan Gavin, Microsoft's general manager for the browser.

Internet Explorer 10's main purpose is to make viewing websites as enjoyable and convenient as using applications tailor-made for specific mobile devices.

Advertisement

For instance, when reading an article on a news site, users of Internet Explorer 10 can just swipe across the screen to continue reading the next page instead of having to scroll down to click on a link, as most browsers require. Microsoft also says games such as "Contre Jour" played on Internet Explorer 10 will work as well, or even better, than those packaged in applications.

Realizing that goal is crucial to Microsoft as it tries to make a bigger splash in the smartphone and tablet markets. It probably will take years before mobile devices running on Windows 8 boast as many applications as their competitors, giving Microsoft an added incentive to build a superior Web browser. The mobile operating systems designed by Apple Inc. and Google Inc. each boast more than 700,000 applications.

Microsoft also hopes Internet Explorer 10 can reverse recent trends in the Web browser market. By some estimates, Google's Chrome browser has supplanted Internet Explorer as the world's most popular browser. Other research firms still assert that Internet Explorer remains the most widely used, although all measures show it has been losing market share to Chrome, Mozilla's Firefox and Apple's Safari.

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. OnePlus Pad Lite Launched in India With 11-Inch Display, 9,340mAh Battery
  2. Moto G86 Power India Launch Date Confirmed: Check Features, Colour Options
  3. Redmi to Launch Two New Smartphones in India by July 24
  4. PayPal's Upcoming Platform Will Let You Make Payments Abroad Easily
  5. Realme 15 5G Series: From Price to Features, Everything We Know So Far
  6. Samsung Galaxy A17 5G, Galaxy A07 Support Page Goes Live
  7. Itel Super Guru 4G Max Launched in India With Built-In AI Voice Assistant
  8. iOS 26 Beta 4 for iPhone Rolls Out With Liquid Glass Changes and More
  1. Meta Announces New Safety Features for Instagram Teen Accounts, Adult-Managed Profiles for Children
  2. Itel Super Guru 4G Max Feature Phone Launched in India With 3-Inch Display, Built-In AI Voice Assistant
  3. Vivo Y400 5G to House a Bigger Battery Than the Pro-Model: Report
  4. PayPal Partners With NPCI, Others to Build Cross-Border Payments Platform Focused on Interoperability
  5. Ubisoft Confirms Assassin's Creed Shadows Is Coming to 'Other Machines', Suggesting a Switch 2 Port
  6. Google I/O Connect: Gemini 2.5 Flash Now Supports On-Shore Processing in India
  7. Redmi Smartphone With High-Capacity Battery to Launch Soon in India; Could Be Redmi 15 5G
  8. Samsung Galaxy A17 5G Support Page Live in India; Galaxy A07 Spotted on Geekbench
  9. Bryan Johnson Says AI Will Help Him Live Forever by Moving from a Biological to Computational System: Report
  10. Google I/O Connect: Google Play X Unity Game Developer Training Programme Announced in India
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.