Microsoft unveiled their new Internet Explorer today, in beta form and it’s a definite leap above their prior 3 iterations of their browser easily. With HTML5 support, built-in integration with Windows 7 and 32-bit and 64-bit versions for Microsoft Vista and Windows 7 as well as support for hardware acceleration and a real clean interface, Internet Explorer 9 is nothing like the versions before it – it actually works well and lacks that sluggishness in the UI.

The improvements to Internet Explorer are as much about what you don’t see as what you do see. Internet Explorer 9 has a streamlined design, fewer dialog boxes to click through, more intuitive navigation, and many new features that speed up your web browsing experience. Features like Pinned Sites let you pin your favorite website directly to the taskbar for one-click access. Other features, like hardware acceleration, deliver an all-around faster browsing experience. With Internet Explorer 9, websites perform and feel more like the programs you use every day on your PC.

The bad part? If you’re still running Microsoft Windows XP, don’t even attempt it. And to be honest, the integration in Windows 7 is a tad bit more in-depth and seamless than with Windows Vista – but the experience is close enough between the two operating systems that I think it’s merely reflective on my like of Windows 7 and my intense dislike for Vista.

Seriously though? I’m impressed. It’s fast – I mean like Opera 10.6 fast – and the UI is not in the way at all. Combined with Adobe’s release today of their 64-bit Native Flash 10.1 Player nicknamed “Square” (download here), it seems like Internet Explorer might become an option once again for developers and people who have long abandoned Internet Explorer since the very early Mozilla/Opera days… like me.

Bravo Microsoft. You’ve all but shut up my typical hatred for all things Internet Explorer. Besides speed and support for new technologies though, let’s hope you’ve worked on the security of this browser just as well. That’s the other reason I disliked Internet Explorer.

[ Links: Beauty of the Web, Download IE9 Beta ]

The new Google phone, the Nexus One, has received lots and lots of hype, most of it focusing on how the device was supposed to revolutionize the US subsidized handset pricing model. Instead, it landed with kind of a semi-interesting thud – and users complained of high fees, no phone support, and the fact that the phone was only available via T-Mobile. Google has tackled the first two of those problems, and now it appears the phone is poised to arrive on other carrier networks. Vaguely-sourced rumors indicate that the Nexus One is set to arrive on Verizon’s network on March 23 – which sounds about right, given that’s the first day of CTIA. FCC documents indicate an AT&T version is also in the pipeline. <

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Pantech [ site here ] announced the launch of its new Qwerty messaging phone ‘Impact‘ in the United States through AT&T. The Impact, which is designed for young generation mates a 2.6-inch WQVGA wide screen and Qwerty keyboard, it is also equipped with a full touch pad to provide a tactile vibrating sensation on the front panel.

Other features included threaded SMS support, Video Share function, AGPS, external Micro SD card slot and more.

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