Per the Netscape Blog, Netscape 9 is in the developmental stages now. Much like Netscape 8, it is going to be browser only, it will not have Mail or Composer which were last included with Netscape 7.2 back in August 2004. However, unlike Netscape 8, this version will be released for Mac OS X and Linux as well as Windows. A few more details, this will be based on Firefox 2 (Gecko 1.8), include Live Bookmarks, Netscape Friends’ Activity Sidebar and Netscape Sitemail Notifier.
I have no idea when this is going to be released but I am guessing late this year or early next year. Of course by that time Firefox 3 (Gecko 1.9) will have been released. Which brings up the question, “Why bother with a Netscape 9?”. This seems to be a common question judging by the comments to the mozillaZine article (see source). But no one seems to offers an official explanation. I am guessing (based on the included features) this browser is going to be target towards those who are using the Netscape Community. This browser will add some of the enhancements which came with Gecko 1.8 such as the Live Bookmarks plus be available to Mac & Linux users.
News Source: mozillaZine
