Microsoft has launched an app for Microsoft Windows Phone 7 users that enhances the default Internet Explorer browser with tabbed browsing, an incognito mode, and more.
Despite being hailed by some reports as an alternative browser, Browser Plus (Browser+) is essentially a $0.99 skin created by the Windows Azure team.
It adds a back and forth button, a Google default search box ,and tabbed browsing on the same screen (previously it toggled thumbnails).
Browser Plus also adds a couple unique features, like a Reader View mode that that sparses text from pages to eliminate images and ads. This is especially useful for blogs and articles; an attempt to use this mode on YouTube produces an error message. Users can browse anything privately with a single tap.
The skin, which uses IE's rendering engine, brings the rather spartan default version of IE7 and IE8 closer to its desktop browsing experience.
Since Microsoft still bars native access for third parties to build apps for Windows Phone 7, Browser Plus is probably the best browser experience available on the phone. Android, on the other hand, has alternative browsers such as Dolphin and Opera Mobile. Apple also began allowing alternative proxy browsers that basically rendered HTML on a remote server rather than through the device itself.
Download Browser Plus for $0.99 from the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace. For more on Windows Phone 7, check out PCMag's review. You can also read more about the "myth" of alternative browsers.
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