Java Edition Beta

Beta was the sixth and the final development phase that succeeded Alpha and preceded Minecraft 1.0. It was announced on Notch's blog on December 11, 2010 and released nine days later, on December 20, 2010. As well as some minor updates, the transition from Alpha saw a 50% price increase (therefore making the cost 25% off the full price), a change in the disclaimer (Notch removed the line that said "all future updates will be provided free of charge", though the statement still applies to users who bought Minecraft before Beta was released. Both Alpha and Beta buyers got the full game free of charge) and minor updates to the main website.

Features

 * New Minecraft logo and launcher.
 * New Animated background for Main Menu.
 * Achievements and statistics.
 * Server-side inventory.
 * Creative game mode.
 * Weather effects: rain and snow.
 * Rewritten biome codes.
 * More variety in trees.
 * New lighting mechanics.
 * New graphical effects, including improved sunrise/sunset, water bubbles, explosions, and Void particles.
 * Naturally generated structures such as Strongholds, Abandoned mineshafts and Villages.
 * New mobs including squid, endermen, silverfish, Cave Spider and tameable wolves.
 * New health mechanic using hunger and stackable food items.
 * New combat mechanics such as critical hits, charged bows, experience orbs, sprinting and blocking.
 * New mechanisms. (redstone repeaters, note blocks, dispensers, powered rails, detector rails, trapdoors, Improved Redstone look, pistons, sticky pistons)
 * New blocks and recipes, such as sandstone and the lapis lazuli block.
 * New farming elements: Melons and pumpkins.
 * Maps
 * Beds for skipping through the night and resetting spawn point.
 * Wool dyes.

Trivia

 * It is possible to play beta within the current Minecraft launcher.
 * Some sound effects in the Beta version will no longer play the old sound effect, instead playing the same sound as in Minecraft 1.0.
 * The first version of Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition was the same as Beta 1.6.6.