The official release of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7 (for Windows XP SP2 users only) was announced on the IEBlog last night. I haven’t seen but a couple of sites linking to the announcement and all with little fan far. Initially, I wanted to do the same — post a quick link to it and get it over with. I feel however that the announcement deserves a bit more attention than my first approach.

IE7 Screenshot

The latest release from Microsoft has a snazzy new look, tabbed browsing, an RSS reader and better Web Standards and CSS support. The company has touted the improved security measures they have taken to protect their users. This is all well and good, but I can’t help but actually feel sorry for Microsoft. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely commend the IE Team and the slew of developers that have worked hard to catch the browser up to where it is now. They definitely deserve a round of applause for pushing for improved standards support. Their achievements are historic.

There’s a problem, however.

All of the great improvements that have been integrated into IE7 are nothing new to the browsing experience. Tabbed browsing has been around for a while now as has the “new” standards support. Microsoft introduced nothing revolutionary yesterday. This was their opportunity to really pull off something big — something that would eclipse the current crop of competitors. They didn’t and it will only cause Internet Explorer to continue to fall behind as other browser companies improve their products at a quicker pace.

I’ve been running Release Candidate 1 as a stand alone application for a while now. I’ve had my time to test my work and run the browser through its paces. It’s better than its predecessors, but honestly, this release feels like the same old browser. Add in a few bug fixes, wrap it up in a shiny new interface and you’ve got yourself IE7. I feel as though I’ve been regifted IE6.

Good luck IE7. I have a hunch you’ll need it.