With much to be desired in the web browsing department on Windows Mobile devices, Microsoft has shed some light on the advancements being made to its mobile browser.  At CTIA event Wednesday night, Microsoft broke down some of the key components to the updated browser, but failed to deliver a release date other than confirming that “it’s still this year”.

At the core of the new Internet Explorer for Windows Mobile is the full IE 6 rendering engine.  Despite many web developers preferring IE7, IE6 is truly the standard of web applications and online banking so it makes sense to use this engine (despite how much extra css work is required).  The main advantage with using the full IE6 rendering engine is that full flash support is now possible in the browser.  IE6 mobile will also have the ability to quick shift between the mobile version and full version of the page without adjusting the url and this can be a big help when you are in less than stellar reception areas.

The big question with Internet Explorer 6 for Windows Mobile is whether users find a reason to use it now that Opera and Skyfire have already delivered similar products.  With a recent boost in funding for Skyfire ($10 million), the company already delivers what we consider the best Windows Mobile browser, yes even in beta.

CTIA Fall 2008