Update: Microsoft have spoken at MIX10 about Internet Explorer 9 and have released a developer preview of the browser, I have also included some new wallpapers.

Whilst writing an article today I thought about what Microsoft could do to improve the look of Internet Explorer, we know they seem to be serious about standards and improving the performance of the browser, but what of the interface.

I have come up with a couple of concepts of what I wouldn’t mind seeing Internet Explorer 9 look like, it follows a combination of the Office Ribbon design and the Zune Quickview page to get the most out of the application and making it look visually appealing.

The concept uses the Office Ribbon’s implementation for tabs for the different web pages and for quick access to common tasks within IE9. When a page is opened from another page they link together as can be seen the BBC News and BBC Weather pages, separate pages don’t need to have a border around them. The New Tab button is highlighted well so it can be located quickly for users who don’t use the shortcut of crtl+t.

The if users click the Quickview button in the top left they will be presented with the follow screen.

The screen (acts like the Zune Software’s Quickview screen) allows users to pin frequently accessed pages, access recently opened pages and see which pages are currently open. Different web pages can be assigned colours (similar design to the New Tab colouring) to make them easily identifiable. With the open pages if there are linked pages then they appear linked here too.

If Microsoft were to go down this path with with Internet Explorer it would create a more coherent design and interface style to Microsoft’s applications, something I know consumers would appreciate.

You might be able to guess that I have work to do and this has come about due to procrastination but I hope we see some implementation like this in future Microsoft products.