The only thing standing between us and Internet Explorer 8 is…another public update before the browser will be revealed in its final form sometime in the first part of 2009. According to a blog posting by Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager Internet Explorer, they want to make sure that the final product will only be delivered after they’ve received the necessary feedback about critical issues.

After the official Beta 2 release in August, everyone thought Microsoft would be ready to release the final version by the end of the year. Apparently, that’s not the case, and although we don’t have a release date yet, what we can say is that the next, and last, public update will take place in the first quarter of 2009, and will be followed by the final release.

Hachamovitch said that so far, the IE8 team “has been absorbed” in the data sent by users about the product, and that the technical community of people and organizations interested in web browsers should take this last update as a signal that IE8 is effectively complete and done.

“We will be very selective about the changes we make between the next update and final release,” he said, adding that changes will be made only on critical issues.

Microsoft launched Beta 2 this summer with the clear intention to address not only developers, as in Beta 1, but also users, focusing on three key elements: everyday browsing, safety and platform. The browser includes some strong features, such as the new tab system or the smart address bar. In addition to that, if offers superior speed to IE7, as well as better overall performance.