Microsoft Tests Show IE9 is Most Energy Efficient of Popular Web Browsers

Internet Explorer 9 appears to be better on energy use than its rivals, according to a study from Microsoft (News - Alert).

Microsoft claims that the new IE9 is “the most energy efficient browser on the market,” according to a report on Digital Trends. The report says the efficiency only applies under select conditions.

IE9 was compared on energy use with other well-known browsers, such as: Firefox 4, Safari 5, Chrome 10 and Opera 11, according to Digital Trends. In each of the tests, Microsoft monitored energy use on a laptop from Intel (News - Alert) “by accessing several websites (a blank page, a generic news site, an HTML5 graphic-intensive site and FishIE) and then measuring how many watts were consumed,” according to the Digital Trends report.

Microsoft reports IE9 usually used the least of the battery energy from the laptop; Firefox 4 came in a “close second;” and Opera 11 was the worst of the bunch, Digital Trends said.

There were limits to the testing protocol, however. Microsoft used only one operating system for the tests –Windows 7, says Digital Trends. (Microsoft makes Windows 7.) In addition, neither tablets nor smartphones were part of the testing process, Digital Trends said.

News about the energy efficiency comes shortly after Microsoft introduced the official version of IE9 following extensive testing, according to TMCnet.

TMCnet’s Lance Whitney – who is also an industry analyst – said the new browser features a more “streamlined look and feel than previous incarnations.”

In addition, IE9 displays address fields, back and forward buttons, and some additional icons, Whitney said. Users can also enable toolbars. The menu bar shows up under the address field, TMCnet added.

IE9 also has several security features, such as Tracking Protection and ActiveX Filtering, according to TMCnet.