The world’s best browser now on Windows too ! That is what the Safari 3 Public Beta download page on Apple’s website says.
But is Safari 3 really worth an alternative browser on Windows ? Will it be able to make a dent into Firefox’s share ?
The Apple site says :
The fastest web browser on any platform, Safari loads pages up to 2 times faster than Internet Explorer 7 and up to 1.6 times faster than Firefox 2. And it executes JavaScript up to 2.8 times faster than Internet Explorer 7 and up to 1.6 times faster than Firefox 2.What does all that mean for you? Less time loading pages and more time enjoying them.
This was too good to be digested by a Firefox fan like me. So I downloaded the Safari beta from Apple’s website for a test – drive. 
Here are my first impressions on Apple’s Safari 3 for Windows.
WTF ?
1. Skins / Themes - The same old brushed interface used in iTunes is also there for Safari. Although some people may like it, I prefer a more Windows unified look, so that the browser looks like a part of the system. In short, I need themes to customize the browser.
2. Two times slower - Although the Apple website claims, Safari is 2 times faster than OS X, I found that it is actually 2 times slower than Firefox. May be Apple was talking about the start up times.
3. Font Rendering - Safari 3 on Windows uses the same font rendering engine as OS X. The result is improved font smoothing compared to other browsers on Windows. I sort of like the font rendering although I do think its a bit blurry. 50 – 50 on the font rendering.
Cool Features
1. SnapBack – Stop hitting the Back button and start using SnapBack in Safari. SnapBack lets you instantly snap back to your original search results or to the top level of any Web site, even after you’ve browsed down a few levels.
2. Resizeable Text Fields – You can actually resize the text box available on different websites.
Final Verdict
Safari 3 is actually a beta and it is too early to say if it will competition to Mozilla Firefox, though I cannot say the same about IE. But my iTunes experience tells me that Safari will also be sluggish. 
13 comments
shwetz says:
Jun 13, 2007
it is indeed fast for me, but it doesnt open php websites very well… most of the time it shows error…. i havent been able to open my wp admin page yet.. the error uit shows is given below… i have reported it to apple..
Safari can’t open the page “http://www.shwetz-online.in/blog/wp-admin/â€. The error was: “unknown error†(CFURLErrorDomain:-1011) Please choose Report Bugs to Apple from the Help menu, note the error number, and describe what you did before you saw this message.
anybody facing the same problem???
Ashwin says:
Jun 13, 2007
Why would anyone want to use a half-assed attempt in releasing a web browser ? I can’t imagine using any other browser than Firefox. I didn’t even want to try out this piece of browser.
Shankar Ganesh says:
Jun 13, 2007
You’re right, Ashwin. This one is half-baked. What a lot of memory it consumes! Hope it gets stable after beta.
Manas says:
Jun 13, 2007
@ Shwetz – Safari is fast ?
Anyone else feels so ?
@ Ashwin – You know na some people want to have fun by trying betas. I m one of them.
@ Shankar – I don’t think it will consume less memory after final release… Remember iTunes.
Shankar Ganesh says:
Jun 15, 2007
@Manas: LOL, the time iTunes takes to start up – I can go to hell and come back
but still it’s my favourite media player 
Manas says:
Jun 15, 2007
Yeah, iTunes is good enough to be the best media player on Windows. Only if it were less bloated.
Madhur Kapoor says:
Jun 19, 2007
I am waiting for the full version , hopefully a lot of things will be fixed by then .
Manas says:
Jun 19, 2007
Yeah, hope so.
Pallab says:
Jun 20, 2007
The test results mentioned in Apple’s website are incorrect.
Have a look at this article.
Well, I love trying new softwares and I have a tendency to install anything new and interesting (even if I dont really need it). I guess its something similar with manas.
Manas says:
Jun 20, 2007
You are right, Apple’s comparisons with Opera and Firefox are wrong.
Roman says:
Nov 14, 2007
I actually like Safari, it’s way faster than IE or Firefox. My favourite would be Opera (also very fast) but it does not render some pages properly. Firefox is a hog, I only use it for Firebug.
Recently I started having the problem with CFURLErrorDomain:-1011 (that’s how I found this discussion) and second most annoying thing is that Backspace does not work like on every other browser.
Mentiroso says:
Jul 9, 2008
Safari is slower than Firefox, Opera, and probably IE as well. I have all four browsers on my computer, and I would list them in order of preference: Firefox, Opera, IE, and somewhere way down the line is Safari. The browser is lame. It is slow, it looks boring and that can’t be changed. It suffers from a lack of real options. It is a pathetic excuse for a browser.
ch 131 says:
Jun 14, 2010
How are the apps on the iPad? I’ve heard the gaming is quite good!