Redmond rolled out video to praise IE's multitasking capabilities

Jun 4, 2014 07:28 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has rolled out a new advertisement that praises Internet Explorer's multitasking capabilities, emphasizing that its in-house browser can be used side by side with other applications on a Windows 8 tablet or PC via the Modern environment.

Redmond's long-time rival Apple is said to be working on a multitasking feature that's very similar to the one already available on Windows 8 and thus allow its users to run two or more apps side by side on iPads.

Even though it was expected to be presented for the first time at the WWDC 2014 conference which kicked off a couple of days ago, it appears that Apple has actually decided to delay the unveiling of its new multitasking feature, but a debut in iOS 8 is still possible.

Today's ad brings IE's multitasking capabilities in the spotlight, with the ad at some point saying that multitasking on Internet Explorer makes it the browser that's perfect for touch.

The touch capabilities of Internet Explorer have long been praised by Microsoft, as the company invested a fortune to make its browser capable of providing a touch-optimized experience to Windows 8 adopters that's very similar to the one available on the desktop.

The software giant says that Internet Explorer is so well-optimized that it can handle up to 100 tabs per window, without affecting performance or battery life.

“Perfect for touch. Includes enhanced support for consumers using touch-based devices, including touch-based drag-and-drop, hover, and active link highlighting. Grouping together the navigation and tabs provides better control, with support for up to 100 open tabs per window,” Microsoft said in a brief description of the browser.

At the same time, the touch-optimized version of Internet Explorer also includes click to call, an option that allows users to call phone numbers found online using Skype, but also synchronization across devices to quickly access the same tabs and browsing history on multiple devices running Windows 8.1.

Pinned sites is another key feature of the browser, as it gives the possibility to quickly access a specific webpage straight from the Start screen, without the need for opening Internet Explorer.

“Enhances pinned sites to support Live Tiles, letting your content update dynamically and creating a more personalized Start screen. Using Live Tiles with Internet Explorer 11 blurs the line, creating an active and seamless experience between apps and web apps,” Microsoft said about this new feature of the touch-optimized browser.