Most eyes may be on the iPhone 3GS this week (and a few on the new MacBook Pro family), but one of Apple’s latest product launches is making plenty of noise beyond the hardware spotlight. More than 11 million copies of Safari 4, the latest version of Apple’s Web browser, have been downloaded in the first three days of its release. That figure includes more than six million downloads of Safari for Windows.
Apple built Safari 4 on advanced browser technologies like the new Nitro JavaScript engine that executes JavaScript nearly eight times faster than Internet Explorer 8 and more than four times faster than Firefox 3, according to the SunSpider JavaScript Performance test. Safari loads HTML Web pages more than three times faster than IE8 and three times faster than Firefox 3, according to VeriTest’s iBench Version 5.0.
“Safari 4 is an incredible success on Mac and Windows with more than 11 million downloads in the first three days,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing. “Safari users love the incredible speed and innovative features like Top Sites, Full History Search, and Cover Flow.”
Safari’s HTML 5 Future
Safari 4 includes HTML 5 support for offline technologies and support for advanced CSS effects. These features usher in the possibility of Web applications that feature a new class of rich media, graphics and fonts. Safari 4 is also the first browser to pass the Web Standards Project’s Acid3 test, which examines how well a browser adheres to CSS, JavaScript, XML and SVG standards designed for dynamic Web applications.
Top Sites in Safari offers a visual preview of frequently visited and favorite pages. Full History Search allows users to search through titles, Web addresses and the complete text of recently viewed pages. Cover Flow flips through Web history or bookmarks.
Safari…