Apple is reporting that it’s new Safari 4 web browser was downloaded 11 million times in the first three days (two of those downloads are mine).
I don’t own a Mac (my last Apple was an Apple ][e) but i do have a PC (dual-boot and vm’ed Windows/Linux). I’m not alone as a PC/Windows downloader of Safari, Apple is reporting some 6 million downloads — that’s more than 50 percent — on Windows.
That’s astounding. I would have thought that the majority of download would be Mac!
In terms of download success, Firefox 3 set a world record in its first 24 hours of release with 8.3 million downloads. The Firefox 3.5 release is nearing and no doubt the marketing people at Mozilla will be looking to top their record.
Records aside, Safari 4 is a slick, fast browser. No doubt some of the Apple brand halo from the iPhone and iPod product lines have rubbed off on Safari with Windows users. It’s also important to see a base of Safari that goes beyond just Mac’s – as that means the browser is more likely to actually work well on even more sites – and have even more developers try and take advantage of some of its features.
I’m especially keen on the evolution of HTML 5 features — particularly video – which is part of Safari 4. As more and more users embrace next generation browsers that support HTML 5 video, it’s increasingly likely that more sites will develop with HTML 5 features in mind too.
