Hacked Internet Explorer Mobile 6 runs on existing cellphones

Filed under: Windows Mobile, Browsers, Mobile

Hacked Internet Explorer Mobile 6 runs on existing cellphones

by Brad Linder Dec 22nd 2008

Microsoft has said it does not plan to make Internet Explorer Mobile 6 available to end users as a direct download. In other words, if you want IE 6 on your mobile phone, you're going to have to buy a new phone. Because it won't run on existing devices. Instead, Microsoft will work with OEMs to load the updated browser on phones that will be released in the not too distant future.

But there's good news for impatient Windows Mobile users. A member of the MoDaCo forums has built a custom ROM for the HTC Touch HD that comes with Internet Explorer 6 preloaded. In other words, it's possible to get the browser running on existing hardware. And if a hacker can do it, there's no reason we couldn't eventually see phone makers distribute the software as a download. Sure, it's not likely, but it's certainly possible.

In the meantime, if you have a Touch HD and you're looking for a browser capable of full desktop views and the same rendering engine used in Internet Explorer 6, you might want to give the potentially warranty-voiding ROM a try. If you're less adventerous you might want to settle for Opera Mobile, which is entirely legal and has the added benefit of supporting tabbed browsing.

[via Engadget]

Tags: htc-touch, htc-touch-hd, internet-explorer, internet-explorer-mobile, internet-explorer-mobile-6, modaco, windows-mobile

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

rawker said 12:13PM on 12-22-2008

there is also a rom for the regular touch with ie 6 on it.

Janus Daniels said 1:39PM on 12-22-2008

We mignt "settle"(!) for Opera instead of MSIE6?
Thanks to MoDaCo, we can load a years old browser, outmoded before its release, instead of Opera.
Who wants to?

Let's start a list of word's stupidest hacks.

rawker said 3:14PM on 12-22-2008

i dunno, i think in browser flash support gives ie6 a little edge over opera, for some things. It is still slow ( i stick to opera for most of my browsing), but its a step in the right direction, hopefully it will get better.

Tim said 11:32AM on 12-24-2008

I am running it on my Hermes with the rom in the link below.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=432852

Tim said 11:32AM on 12-24-2008

I am running it on my Hermes with the rom in the link below. The rom works great.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=461680

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