14 DAY TRIAL // On August 27, 2008 Microsoft made available for download the second Beta version of Internet Explorer 8. While Beta 1 was nothing more than the core of Internet Explorer 8, stripped off of all the browser's features, Beta 2 is a consumer-oriented release, with Microsoft focusing on end users and IT professionals. Statistics from Net Applications indicate that the release of Beta 2 increased the usage share of IE8 to over 500% more than the apex of Beta 1.
"With the release of beta 2 on August 27th, Internet Explorer 8.0 usage share has started to jump. Within three days of its release, usage share was already 500% above the peak beta 1 usage share. Since beta 1 was primarily a developer's preview, beta 2 is the first release to have the new features intended for the final release. These features include a much improved address bar, private mode browsing, better tabs and improved navigation," reads a message from Net Applications.
The final version of Internet Explorer 8, planned for the forth quarter of 2008, will come to the table following the releases of Opera 9.5, Firefox 3.0 and the Beta version of Google Browser (Chrome). Net Applications indicates that Internet Explorer's market share at the end of August 2008 was just 72.15% – this, while Mozilla's Firefox is up to 19.73% with Opera at 0.74%. Internet Explorer 7 was at 46.79% in August 2008, having slipped from 47.10% the previous month, no doubt because of the release of IE8 Beta 2. Internet Explorer 6 is at 25.17% of the browser market, with Firefox 2.0 hanging tough at 11.51% and Firefox 3.0 already at 7.74%.
Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 "contains new features to enable end users take better advantage of the web, connect businesses more effectively with their customers, give IT professionals more control in managing their deployments, and help web developers build great sites more easily. Also, new innovations in privacy, reliability and security in this release provide a trustworthy foundation for these new features. Finally, for the first time we are shipping a beta in twenty-five languages to help us ensure that Internet Explorer is great for users worldwide," revealed Tony Chor, group program manager, Internet Explorer.
Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 is available for download here.