Microsoft has been silently hammering away on Microsoft Edge, the new default browser in Windows 10. It is not only to bring it to par with modern browsers like Google Chrome but to surpass them. With each iteration of Microsoft Edge released with new builds of Window 10, we can see clearly the direction Microsoft is going. First they were touting MS-Edge speed, it is actually beating Chrome now at its own game as far as speed is concerned. To be decided yet is the resource usage. Google Chrome has become the hog on everyone’s PC, the world is looking for a champion to come to the rescue. Microsoft is hoping to fill that void with MS-Edge.

To differentiate itself, Microsoft has taken Edge beyond tradition Browser activities. Edge is not only for browsing the web, but also to integrate information into your existence. You can now annotate the Web by directly clipping, commenting on web pages and forwarding or sharing it with people that matter most. Cortana is there to guide you through murky informational waters and be your assistance in assimilating the Internet.

The latest feature we are seeing is the introduction of the New Tab page in Microsoft Edge shown above. The New Tab page is to become you landing page when you open new tabs. It shows the traditional Most-visited links in a row of tiles at the top as you can see in the picture, and in the body of the page, most interesting News contents from Microsoft MSN service. Note this content is curated based on your preference and what Cortana knows about you.

Now what we’ve noticed is the addition of the content of your Reading List to the right in its own Pane for easy access. Sometimes you add content to the Reading List but forget to peruse them later, with this feature you’re reminded of the things you wanted to read later, and in this way Microsoft is driving Web engagement. To show the complete List, the Hub link is below the pane.

One thing that MS Edge has been missing up till now is the integration of Password Management enjoyed in IE11. According to MS Edge team members, this is also now implemented with the version of Edge available in build 10130 of Windows 10. However, we’ve tested here at McAkins Online and could not confirm this. It could be us in this case, if the Password Manager in Edge has been working for you, please let us know in the comments.

Generally, we are happy to see MS shed the croft from IE11 and take the Trident Engine to the new age. We are glad to have competition to Google Chrome which is an abomination to some of us who care about our privacy and data. Are you using MS-Edge already? Let us know what you think.