Everyone knows that Microsoft is primping for the launch of Windows 10, but what’s even more fascinating is a new report that claims that instead of trying to revamp the Internet Explorer for this launch, the software giant is thinking of starting from the ground and launch a new browser by the name of ‘Spartan’. As per the reports that came on Monday, when Microsoft launches Windows 10, which is due sometime in the latter half of the upcoming year, it would introduce Spartan, alongside Windows Explorer 11 in it. There are twofold reasons that Microsoft has for launching Spartan.

First off, the company wishes to introduce a lightweight version of the Internet Explorer, one that can support third party extensions. Secondly, Spartan could be a form of marketing ‘do-over’ for the age-old Internet Explorer as the company may want to end this legacy once and for all. Apart from that, the software company could also introduce Spartan on alternative platforms like Android and iOS just like the search widget found on Android devices can be replaced by the Bing search app. Technically, the Trident rendering engine and Chakra JavaScript engine of Microsoft will be used by the browser. However, the most interesting aspect is the marketing thrust that will be implementing by Microsoft.

When considering the statistics in aggregate, Microsoft’s baby i.e. the Internet Explorer still remains the most popular browser all around the globe. According to the numbers assembled in 2014, about 58% of the total user base still make use of Internet Explorer. Nevertheless, other browsers are climbing up steadily, especially Chrome, Google’s introduction, which went from 16.4% to about 20% by the end of November. Firefox and Opera, on the other hand, are losing share steadily. However, it seems that Microsoft is still determined because it launched a video mocking campaign that directly picks on the remains of its legacy browsers.

The campaign is called ‘the browser you loved to hate’ and other exercises have also been introduced by Microsoft for the same purpose. Internet Explorer 6 is still classified as one of the worst products that could have been invented. Google developed Chrome to offer people an alternative to the conservatism of Microsoft in standard adoption. Furthermore, as far as support for HTML 5 is concerned, Chrome still remains on top as opposed to the Internet Explorer. It can also be argued that Microsoft has taken steps to improve its browser as compared to previous versions, even if some techies use other alternatives.

The company can serve its best interests if it chooses to make Spartan a choice in the upcoming tech reviews instead of depending on just one browser for the future. Assuming that Spartan lives up to its expectations and is indeed lightweight, available on various platforms and standards-compliant, then Microsoft will have the option of launching Spartan in the same way that OS X was launched by Apple; a major revamp, but one that can offer huge benefits as a base for development in the future.

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