As of Platform Preview 3

Jul 2, 2010 14:45 GMT  ·  By

Even ahead of hitting the Platform Preview 3 development milestone, the next generation of Internet Explorer passed the 2 million downloads mark. Microsoft confirmed officially that Internet Explorer 9 has been downloaded over 2 million times since the initial release in March 2010, at MIX. There is further reason for the team behind IE to be excited, as the IE Test Drive website, an online destination put together for IE9 has generated in excess of 16 million views.

The numbers mentioned above are particularly impressive if the fact that IE9 Platform Previews are nowhere close to fully-fledged browser releases is taken into consideration. Preview 1, 2 and 3 of IE9 are all just the core of the IE8’s successor, with little functionality on top, and just a basic UI. After all, Platform Preview releases are designed for web developers to test drive the evolution of Internet Explorer in terms of modern web standards support, hardware acceleration, performance, same markup, etc.

The software giant noted recently that IE9 has been enjoying an excellent reception, and it is clear that the positive reviews for the browser are well earned. IE9 Platform Preview 3 Build 1.9.7.8.74.6000, which was released in the second half of June 2010 brings to the table consistent performance enhancements, same markup improvements, expanded HTML5 support, boosted hardware acceleration, etc.

Provided IE9’s momentum will last, the browser is bound to pass the 3 million downloads mark before the next development milestone will be released. The availability of IE9 Platform Preview 2 in May 2010, also marked the first million downloads. According to the company’s release schedule, which hasn’t changed in the least, per the info offered via the IE Test Center FAQ, the next Build of IE9 will drop within eight weeks after Platform Preview 3. Microsoft noted that a Beta of IE9 will only be offered to the public once the browser reaches a certain quality standard.

Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Platform Preview 3 Build 1.9.7.8.74.6000 is available for download here.

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