Windows books a Safari

Apple Inc claims its Safari web browser is twice as fast as its competitors, and now has launched an advanced test version of a model for Windows XP and Vista, free at http://www.apple.com/safari/download/

It adds yet another tentacle to Apple's multi-pronged encroachment of Microsoft's turf.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer is the predominant browser with a 78 per cent share, while Mozilla's Firefox has rapidly climbed to gain about 15 percent of the market, he said.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs claimed Safari performs twice as fast as its competitors.

"Safari is another Trojan horse that introduces an innovation of Apple to the Windows community and entices them to the Mac platform," said Tim Bajarin, an industry analyst at Creative Strategies, a technology consultancy.

The free program is the latest move by Apple to expand its reach beyond its Macintosh computers and, at the same time, attract new converts to its products. The upcoming iPhone seeks to be another draw.

The slickness of its gadget designs notwithstanding, the key to Apple's success and reputation for ease of use is its software and how well it integrates with its hardware.

"There are a lot of connections between our products and here's one more," Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller said of the Windows-version of Safari in an interview. "And the more people who like our applications, the more it might mean they'll buy other products from us."

The strategy is apparently paying off. Mac sales have grown significantly over the past two years, pushing its slice of the PC market in the United States from 3.5 percent in 2004 to 4.9 percent in 2006, according to IDC, a market research firm.

About half of the Macs sold today in Apple's retail stores are to people new to the Mac platform.

Jobs announced Monday that the upcoming iPhone, due for release in the US on June 29 and in Asia in 2008, will run a full version of Safari.

"What we've got here is the most innovative browser in the world and the most powerful browser in the world," Jobs said during his keynote speech at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference.