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Microsoft’s upcoming Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) browser for Windows 8 will come in two versions — one a streamlined, “Metro-style” program designed to resemble a smartphone or tablet app, the other a more standard desktop browser.

The clean screen approach of Metro-style IE10.
(Credit: Lance Whitney/CNET)

In other words, everyone who wants to use IE10 will have to choose which version they want — and could even end up switching from one to the other mid-task. Microsoft is clearly thumbing the scales toward the Metro version of the browser, although it knows that some, possibly many, users will still prefer a more familiar and more fully fledged desktop version.

In the latest Building Windows 8 blog published yesterday, Rob Mauceri, group program manager for Internet Explorer, explained that the company designed its Metro browser to be fast, fluid, and simple.

The desktop version of Internet Explorer 10 provides the usual browser environment with optional menus, tabs, favourites and a host of other features. But in the Metro version, Microsoft has jettisoned most of those “manual” features to focus strictly on serving up the web page itself.

“As people browse more ‘chromelessly’ on their phones, they’ve become accustomed to a more immersive and less manual browsing experience compared with the desktop,” Mauceri said. “Metro-style browsing offers you a full-screen, immersive site experience.”

The first change Metro IE10 users will notice is that no menus, tabs, address bar or other visual clues appear. Instead, the web page takes up the full real estate of the browser. Right-clicking anywhere in the browser then reveals the address bar at the bottom and a space at the top where you can open a new page in a separate tab or close an existing page.

Clicking in the address bar displays a screen with Navigation tiles for frequently used and pinned sites, so you can quickly open any site. Typing a URL in the address field displays sites from your History and Favorites; otherwise entering a new URL takes you to the new page.

The address bar includes the usual back and forward buttons (though instead of being next to each other, they’re on opposite ends of the screen) and a refresh button. Another button lets you pin your current site to the Metro Start screen so you can access it without opening the browser. And one more button allows you to search for text on your current page or open the page in the desktop version of IE.

Hovering your mouse to the left or right of the screen displays an arrow that can take you back or forward. The entire approach is designed to keep all features hidden until you need them.

There are also clear pitfalls to this approach. The Metro approach doesn’t lend itself to organisation. Although you can pin your favourite websites to the Start screen and links to frequently used sites will pop up when you access the address bar, anyone who works with dozens of websites will quickly find this method unwieldy with no way to manage all of the sites visited.

The Metro browser presents other obstacles.

There’s no support for plug-ins, so surfing to Flash-enabled sites is out of the question. Using a password manager that stores passwords likely uses a toolbar extension, which also is likely to be off limits to the Metro version of IE.

Accessing other options, such as printing a page or sharing it via email, requires the user to launch the separate Charms bar. That isn’t as bad as it sounds, but it’s not as convenient as running those tasks directly in the browser.

Finally, there’s the whole question of trying to manage two flavours of the browser — one for Metro and one for the desktop. The two versions do share certain elements in common, such as a History list. But otherwise they behave as two separate applications, which could cause problems when users find themselves opening the Metro app for a particular website only to realise they need the desktop version.

Microsoft is offering other browser vendors a third approach known as a “Metro-style enabled desktop browser”. Mozilla is developing a single version of Firefox for Windows 8, one that can function as both a Metro and desktop app. The only limitation is that such a browser must be set up as the default, otherwise it functions strictly as a desktop app.

Via CNET