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Earlier this summer we told you about the launch of Firefox Home, an iPhone app developed by Mozilla that allows users of the popular Web browser to take their bookmarks and browsing history with them on-the-go. Since a full-blown mobile Firefox client would likely be turned away by App Store reviewers, the handy app has been a decent compromise that keeps iPhone users interested in using Firefox on the desktop. Today, Mozilla outlined its plans for the future of Firefox Home, which includes expanding to more mobile platforms and adding richer social media integration within the app.

Microsoft just launched the first beta of Internet Explorer 9. After a series of developer previews, this is the first release of Internet Explorer 9 that features the browser's new interface. The new design is very clean and only features a single bar for entering URLs and managing your tabs. In addition, the browser is also integrated more tightly with Windows 7 and allows users to pin websites to the task bar, for example.

You can download the beta here.

A recent build of Chromium, the open source Web browser which serves as the testing ground for Google Chrome, has been updated with a new feature: Google Chrome Labs. This internally accessed page is available by typing in about:labs in the browser's address bar. Currently, there are only two "labs" (that is, experimental features) available for testing - an option to use side tabs for Windows users and an option to see an expose-like tab overview for Mac users.

So how can you access this new Labs section, which is still off-limits to users of the standard Chrome browser? We've got the details in our latest "weekend project."

Are you sick of seeing Arial, Verdana, Times New Roman and other boring, overused fonts (I'm looking at you, Comic Sans) all over the Web? For years, browser compatibility and font licensing issues have led to the proliferation of a handful of "Web-safe" fonts. Soon, however, all that could change with a proposed file format that seeks to broaden the web designer's font palette, making aesthetic Web typography easier, international and searchable.

Your choice in Web browser is about to get more interesting as all three of the top browsers on the market today - Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome - prepare and launch updated beta versions, each offering compelling, and in some cases unique, new features.

Although IE's beta launch is still weeks away, the company has detailed its plans for the improved browser, which include additions like hardware acceleration, HTML5 support and a faster JavaScript engine. Firefox, meanwhile, has added multi-touch support for Windows 7, among other things. And Chrome's latest has added form autofill, plus extension and autofill synchronization.

Last Thursday we wrote about Firefox's launch of its newest version, 3.6.4. This version separated the browser itself from the plug-ins that ride it. So if a plug-in were lagging, or otherwise going haywire, it wouldn't crash the whole screen. These improvements are restricted to Linux and Windows until Version 4.0, which will include Mac.

Today, Mozilla has announced a further upgrade, to version 3.6.6.

Flock, the "social" Web browser formerly built on top of Mozilla's Firefox, has just made a radical change. It's now powered by Chromium, the same technology found in the underpinnings of the speedy (and rapidly growing) Google Chrome.

Long decried among many early adopters as slow, busy and buggy, Flock today aims to change those former perceptions with the launch of its overhauled browser. The company describes the new Flock as "simple," "clutter-free" and "lightning fast."

Today Apple announced the release of its latest version of the Safari browser. Safari 5, says the company, will perform 30% faster than the previous version.

Apple did not announce Safari 5 at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, but only in press release. Neither the browser nor the developer package are available on the Apple site as of press time. While writing this story, the URL for the press release ceased functioning. We have a question in to Apple but have not heard a response as we post.

HTML5 is quickly becoming an important part of the Web surfing experience, and according to online ad network Chitika, almost half of all Internet users are already using HTML5-compatible browsers. On Chitika's network, Firefox (version 3.5 and higher) is the most popular of these HTML5-compatible browsers, followed by Chrome and Safari, with Opera coming in a distant fourth in this race. The league of HTML5-incompatible browsers is mostly comprised of different versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Since Google Chrome's release in September of 2008, Mac and Linux users have been playing catch-up with Windows users for features and stable releases. As of today, all three versions of Chrome are now officially stable as the Mac and Linux versions have shed their beta labels to become faster versions with new features. According to the official Google Chrome blog, the new universally stable release also includes a handful of new HTML5 and syncing features.