IEBlog confirmed on May 16, 2005, that the next version of Windows web browser, Internet Explorer 7.0, which is code-named “Rincon“, has tabs.

They also admitted they should have integrated tab browsing feature earlier.

Quoted:
Some people have asked why we didn’t put tabs in IE sooner. Initially, we had some concerns around complexity and consistency… will it confuse users more than it benefits them? Is it confusing if IE has tabs, but other core parts of the Windows experience, like Windows Media Player or the shell, don’t have tabs? I think we made the wrong decision here initially, and we’re making the right one now.

Well, who doesn’t make mistake? As long as we learn from it and do the right thing next time.

Really looking forward to a better IE to be released end of this year, hopefully.