Start Installation
The browser requires a longer installation process than most others, along with a reboot.
About Box
Here are the version details for the IE9 RTW (release to web) version.
First Look at IE9
The RTW version looks identical to IE9's RC (release candidate). The Welcome page introduces the browser's new features.
Gear Menu
Microsoft packs a lot of options into this one menu, which now combines the functions of IE8's Page, Safety, and Tools menus.
IE9's One Box 5
IE9's combined address and search box suggests sites from your favorites, history, and optionally from Bing search suggestions.
Remember Password
The new browser uses notifications like this at the bottom of the screen for messages like password remembering and downloads.
Suggested Sites
There seems to be more emphasis on this feature in this browser version.
IE9's Tracking Protection
This is a laudable new feature that lets you prevent multiple site from seeing where you've been on the Web. They often do this using tiny images that call home to the third-party site.
Dragging a Video Tab in IE9
Unlike other browsers, IE9 lets you continue watching a video as you drag its tab out of the first window.
Tab Arrows 10
When you have too many tabs to show on the tab bar (which you can resize by shrinking the One Box), these arrows that help with the narrow space allotted.
Close Tab You're Not Viewing
Finally you can close a tab that doesn't have the focus, buy hovering the mouse over it and clicking on the X (as shown for the PCMag page here).
Enable Toolbars
By right-clicking on the title bar, you can turn on the old features from IE8 like the command button bar.
Safety Menu
A few new choices here include Tracking Protection and ActiveX filtering. Now there's only one InPrivate choice, to cut down on confusion.
Internet Explorer 9 : Amazon Pinned Site
When you pin a site, the browser takes on its icon and color. Optionally, the site can create jumplists like this one, offering site sections and deals.
Download Manager 15
The download manager is a welcome (and overdue) new feature of IE9 that lets you pause and search downloads.
Header Size
IE9 actually takes up the least number of pixels at the top of your screen, to leave the most room for the Web page you're viewing. From left to right are Firefox 4 Beta 10, Chrome 9, Opera 11, and IE9.
Manage Add Ons
The updated add-on manager lets you see how much time each add-on will add to start up.
Add On Warning
If an add-on is slowing browsing down too much, a notice at the bottom of the screen will offer to pop up this dialog, which shows you the culprits and lets you disable them.
Add On Gallery
Most people don't associate IE with add-ons, with Firefox dominating that concept, but Microsoft's browser has long been customizable with them. Note also the notification at the bottom asking if you want to allow the download. This replaces the yellow bar that used to appear at the top of the page window for all notifications.
Developer Tools 20
Hitting F12 opens this window, which shows HTML, CSS, scripting, and profiling tools for Web geeks.
FishIE Benchmark
Microsoft's IE team has produced an abundance of demos at the IETestdrive.com site to show off the browser's hardware acceleration. This simulated fish tank stresses the graphics subsystems increasingly as you add fish, and only IE9 can acceptably run it with 500 or 1000 fish.
