HTML5 has now hit the market harder then ever. A few years ago this wasn’t a huge topic, but within the 2nd quarter of 2011 and 2nd quarter of 2012 HTML5 has exploded increasing to 75% compatible browser. What’s HTML5? What browsers support this new innovation? I will tell you.
HTML5 stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. HTML is the behind the scenes coding language that enables us to see things on browsers. Browser market share statistics have shown, “that nearly 75 percent of users in North America and 83 percent in Europe are running browsers that support a large segment of the HTML5 feature set”, says Forrester.
HTML5 has been developed for awhile now. The last update was HTML4 and that was over 10 years ago and that’s a very long time in tech years. HTML was begging for un update so we got HTML5. HTML 5 now allows you to add video right into the code allowing to add video with out having to download an external video player such as Flash. HTML five also incorporates other features like; audio, vector graphics and animations, editable web page content and more. Now you understand why it is catching on so rapidly.
These are the Browser Compatibility Now.
HTML5 gets complicated when you begin to implement HTML5 native browser features and canvas elements, many of which still need JavaScript to be fully supported. Many CSS3 selectors are also either dependent on JavaScript or not safe for mobile browsers.
HTML5 Elements Support:
- Internet Explorer 9 & 10
- Firefox 7 and higher
- Chrome 14 and higher
- Safari 5 and higher
- Opera 11 and higher
- Mobile Safari 3.2 and higher
- Opera Mobile 5 and higher
- Android 2.1 and higher
Browsershots and Spoon
These website allows you to test a live website in just about every browser and OS combination possible, giving you a screenshot of each selection to show you how your site will look on various browsers. Browsershots won’t direct you in what to fix, but the visual cues allow you to seeproblem areas and begin planning for a solution. Spoon is a free version of this same software. Spoon also works with mobile browsers and release candidate like Chrome 18. Instead of the screen shot, like in Browser shot, spoon gives you a virtual browser for better viewing and editing.
There is way to tell how well your browser is incorporating HTML5 formatting. The HTML5 test is available to do just that. It indicates how well your browser is prepared for the upcoming new browser technology. Right now chrome 23 is in second place with 448 out of a possible 500 points, the number 1browser is MaxThon with 557. The test is more of a rough test only based on the new aspects of HTML5. Other feature give you bonus points like audio and video. 
Overall it will give you an idea on how your browser is adapting and preparing for the future.
HTML5 is approaching very fast. Make sure the browser you have is using the most up to date coding. HTML5 will bring new innovations to the browsing world. I would say its been a long over do wait, but it will be worth it.