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Netscape 7.0 is based on Gecko technology, created by the AOL-funded Mozilla open source movement. In the last few months the company has been testing Gecko in various versions of its flagship AOL service.
AOL currently uses Internet Explorer as its default browser despite buying Netscape in 1998. Were the Internet giant to switch over to Netscape it would give the software company access to more than 34 million AOL Internet customers.
Since Microsoft was found to be using monopolistic tactics in the marketing and distributing of its Internet Explorer browser in the US, AOL began to reassert the value of Netscape to consumers. That case focused on the so-called browser war between Netscape and Microsoft's Internet Explorer, a war that by most accounts was won by Microsoft.
For now, AOL is not saying whether it has plans to drop Internet Explorer as the default Web browsing technology, but suspicions remain high that it may do so.
Some of the new features on Netscape 7.0 include a "Quick Launch" facility that will speed up the start time for the browser, as well as other new features such as tabbed browsing, click-to-search and a download manager. There is also a more powerful Netscape Mail.
The new browser has built-in buttons to direct users to other services offered by its parent company AOL Time Warner, such as AOL Instant Messenger. Another new addition to the software is Radio@Netscape, the browser's first integrated radio product, which allows users to choose a radio station from the Netscape toolbar. The service has over 175 stations, offering 80s music, news and Hip Hop among others.
Along with the new software, Netscape also announced a redesign of its home portal www.netscape.com, which attracts more than 20 million users per month. One new feature on the Web site is the Netscape search engine powered by Google, which includes editorial content from AOL Time Warner companies Time Magazine and CNN.
Netscape recently reached a landmark 52 million registered users, a 35 percent increase on last year, and the company claims to be one of the top ten most visited Web sites and top five portals worldwide, reaching 17 percent of the US on-line audience.
But even with all of the new bells and whistles on Netscape 7.0, the company has a long way to go to catch up to the dominance of Internet Explorer in the world of browsers. It is estimated that only four percent of Net users use Netscape, compared to around 90 percent for Internet Explorer.
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