Internet Explorer 7 has a new icon and logo. Microsoft says that there are a lot of new features and work going into IE 7, so a new icon and logo is only fitting. The changes are fairly subtle, though, with the retention of the blue "e" with the ring, which is now pretty familiar with users.
As you can see, the new "e" has more modern look, and the edges are a bit darker so the icon stands out better against different backgrounds. We liked the gold ring too since it brings in new energy and helps the icon pop a bit more than the old one.
This icon and text treatment will be used on the versions of IE 7 for Windows XPSP2, Server 2003 SP1, and x64 versions. We'll have a slightly different look for the Windows Vista™ version, one that's more consistent with the icons there. We're not quite ready with that one yet, but we'll share it here once we do.
We're happy with how this turned out; I hope you like the new look too.