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Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc. and included in Mac OS X. It was first released as a public beta on January 7, 2003, and was included as the default browser in Mac OS X v10.3. A beta version for Microsoft Windows was released for the first time on June 11, 2007 with support for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Safari has also been run unofficially on Linux under Wine, but the GUI and graphics do not render properly.

In February 2009 the beta for Safari 4 was released. This release includes a complete visual redesign and multiple new features such as full page zoom, speculative loading, ACID 3 compliance, a new and improved JavaScript engine and Cover Flow for websites.

Safari 1
MSRP $0.00
Release date January, 2003
Brand Apple
love it
want it
have it
tag it
Pros & Cons21
Reviews22
Details
Buy It
Competitors5
Comments3
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Pros & Cons

ProSCORE
22 reviews
68
negative
mixed
positive
12 positive
3 mixed
7 negative

[i] How is the ProSCORE calculated?

show me!

Pros:
Do you agree?
•
Text boxes can be resized
+11agreedisagree

•
Very cool find interface
+9agreedisagree

•
Open source rendering engine shared with Google Chrome
+8agreedisagree

•
Easy to read fonts
+7agreedisagree

•
doesnt crash as easily as IE
+6agreedisagree

•
improved UI in version 4
+6agreedisagree

•
Clean uncluttered user interface
+4agreedisagree

•
Much faster than IE or Firefox
+3agreedisagree

•
fastest JavaScript engine of any browser (version 4)
+3agreedisagree

•
compatible with SMBL/Input Manager plugins
+3agreedisagree

•
compatible with greasekit
+3agreedisagree

•
Passed Acid 3 Test 100% with Webkit
+3agreedisagree

•
Driving force behind HTML5
+2agreedisagree

•
It's design is great
+1agreedisagree

Cons:
Do you agree?
•
Firefox has better/more extensions
+17agreedisagree

•
Can't press "/" to bring up find
+4agreedisagree

•
No native Linux support
+3agreedisagree

•
Installs with nasty updater
0agreedisagree

•
Windows version looks like MacOS version what causes rendering problems
0agreedisagree

•
Not fully functional with all sites
-1agreedisagree

•
windows version is extremely vulnerable
-2agreedisagree


22 people added to this review by submitting or voting on pros and cons. Add your say!
See individual votes »

Details

Originally the browsers layout drew many comparisons to Firefox, though lacking Firefox's modularity. As of Safari 4 however, the developers have gone for a more Google Chrome like appearance. Safari includes a built-in RSS reader, native Quicktime support, an integrated pop-up ad blocker and a Web Inspector - a DOM Inspector-like utility that lets users and developers browse the Document Object Model of a web page.

As of January 2009 the market share held by Safari is a respectable 8.29%.

Submit a link

This report was started November 21, 2007 at 6:47 pm by audioboxer217
with the last edit occurring October 7, 2009 at 8:16 am by Robb Lincoln
This page has been viewed 619 times, with 197 edits by 30 contributors.
See the full report history »

Buy It

Competitors

Safari is ranked 5th among it's competitors.  See the top picks in Internet Browsers »
Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox

MSRP  $0.00    Released  November, 2004
Pros
  • Extensive functional add-ons (extensions) and plug-ins
  • Tabbed browsing
  • After a crash can "Restore session" which reopens all tabs
Cons
  • Websites designed with proprietary IE/Active X code may not render correctly
  • Windows returns an error if you close Firefox and try to start it up right away "Firefox is still running"
  • Firefox V2 crashes semi-regularly and uses a lot of computing resources
ProSCORE
109 reviews
81
Vote! (38 votes)
vote Safari 13% vs. vote Mozilla Firefox 87%
Google Chrome

Google Chrome

MSRP  $0.00    Released  September, 2008
Pros
  • Extremely fast web-browsing
  • Very clean interface
  • Very fast startup time
Cons
  • No addons yet
  • Location bar isn't as intelligent as Firefox awesome bar
  • Installation is a little weird
ProSCORE
43 reviews
61
Vote! (12 votes)
vote Safari 25% vs. vote Google Chrome 75%
Windows Internet Explorer

Windows Internet Explorer

MSRP  $0.00    Released  January, 1995
Pros
  • Tabbed browsing
  • Nice tab gallery browsing
  • Has Phising protection out-of-the-box
Cons
  • third-party extension support
  • Violates web standards.
  • Poor security allows malware and viruses to easily install from infected websites.
ProSCORE
47 reviews
31
Vote! (19 votes)
vote Safari 37% vs. vote Windows Internet Explorer 63%
Opera

Opera

MSRP  $0.00    Released  January, 1996
Pros
  • Fast rendering
  • Download manager
  • "Speed dial" favourite page thumbnails
Cons
  • Not supported by all sites
  • lacks Firefox's extension pool
  • No support for tree-style tabs list
ProSCORE
28 reviews
90
Vote! (23 votes)
vote Safari 39% vs. vote Opera 61%
SRWare Iron

SRWare Iron

MSRP  $0.00    Released  September, 2008
Pros
  • Extremely fast web-browsing
  • Very clean interface
  • Very fast startup time
  • Open-source
Cons
  • No addons yet
  • not avaliable on Linux
ProSCORE
1 review
67
Vote! (0 votes)
vote Safari   vs. vote SRWare Iron  

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Comments

18 taps
show more
1.  avatar exumer said:

Its a better alternative to Internet Explorer, but cannot beat the new version of Firefox.
May 15, 2008 12:58pm
2.  avatar shadowtech said:

With a few added plugins for the Mac version, it's everything I personally need in a browser.
Unfortunately the Windows version does not feature such plugin support, thus Firefox is still a better browser on that platform, in my opinion.
Feb 26, 2009 11:40am
3.  avatar Omar said:

ya, i have to say that Safari4 is a major step above Safari3. The speed is definitely there, and right now is comparable to Chrome which is nice. Plus it has the better "Awesome Bar" from Firefox, so that's a big plus. Personally, I like the built-in dev tools of the new Safari better than Chrome, however the functionality is still a step below Firebug.

Overall I have to say that I'm really liking the new trend with browsers emphasizing speed and cleanliness over bloated features. Chrome really shook everyone up and for that I do thank Google. With all this competition it'll be really interesting to see how things shape up over the year.
Feb 27, 2009 11:43am
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Reviews

Sort by: Most helpful  •  Newest  •  Most positive

fractalhorizon

avatar
June 13, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
87
negative
mixed
positive
13 pros
2 cons
have ithave it
love itlove it

Pros

  • Text boxes can be resized
  • Very cool find interface
  • Open source rendering engine shared with Google Chrome
  • Easy to read fonts
  • doesnt crash as easily as IE
  • improved UI in version 4
  • Clean uncluttered user interface
  • Much faster than IE or Firefox
  • fastest JavaScript engine of any browser (version 4)
  • compatible with SMBL/Input Manager plugins
  • compatible with greasekit
  • Passed Acid 3 Test 100% with Webkit
  • Driving force behind HTML5

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions
  • No native Linux support

Competitors

fractalhorizon prefers Safari over Windows Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Opera, Mozilla Firefox
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Robb Lincoln

avatar
September 22, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
83
negative
mixed
positive
10 pros
2 cons

Pros

  • Text boxes can be resized
  • Very cool find interface
  • Open source rendering engine shared with Google Chrome
  • Easy to read fonts
  • doesnt crash as easily as IE
  • improved UI in version 4
  • Clean uncluttered user interface
  • Much faster than IE or Firefox
  • fastest JavaScript engine of any browser (version 4)
  • Passed Acid 3 Test 100% with Webkit

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions
  • No native Linux support

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

shadowtech

avatar
February 27, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
83
negative
mixed
positive
10 pros
2 cons
have ithave it
love itlove it

Pros

  • Text boxes can be resized
  • Very cool find interface
  • Open source rendering engine shared with Google Chrome
  • Easy to read fonts
  • improved UI in version 4
  • Clean uncluttered user interface
  • Much faster than IE or Firefox
  • fastest JavaScript engine of any browser (version 4)
  • compatible with SMBL/Input Manager plugins
  • compatible with greasekit

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions
  • Can't press "/" to bring up find

Comments

"With a few added plugins for the Mac version, it's everything I personally need in a browser.
Unfortunately the Windows version does not feature such plugin support, thus Firefox is still a better browser on that platform, in my opinion."
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Omar

avatar
February 27, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
80
negative
mixed
positive
8 pros
2 cons

Pros

  • Text boxes can be resized
  • Very cool find interface
  • Open source rendering engine shared with Google Chrome
  • Easy to read fonts
  • improved UI in version 4
  • Clean uncluttered user interface
  • Much faster than IE or Firefox
  • fastest JavaScript engine of any browser (version 4)

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions
  • Can't press "/" to bring up find

Comments

"ya, i have to say that Safari4 is a major step above Safari3. The speed is definitely there, and right now is comparable to Chrome which is nice. Plus it has the better "Awesome Bar" from Firefox, so that's a big plus. Personally, I like the built-in dev tools of the new Safari better than Chrome, however the functionality is still a step below Firebug.

Overall I have to say that I'm really liking the new trend with browsers emphasizing speed and cleanliness over bloated features. Chrome really shook everyone up and for that I do thank Google. With all this competition it'll be really interesting to see how things shape up over the year."

Competitors

Omar prefers Google Chrome, Windows Internet Explorer over Safari
Omar prefers Safari over Mozilla Firefox, Opera
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

dialupinternetuser

avatar
February 26, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
50
negative
mixed
positive
4 pros
4 cons
have ithave it

Pros

  • doesnt crash as easily as IE
  • improved UI in version 4
  • compatible with SMBL/Input Manager plugins
  • compatible with greasekit

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions
  • Can't press "/" to bring up find
  • No native Linux support
  • Not fully functional with all sites

Competitors

dialupinternetuser prefers Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome over Safari
dialupinternetuser prefers Safari over Windows Internet Explorer, Opera
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Yale

avatar
February 25, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
83
negative
mixed
positive
5 pros
1 con

Pros

  • Open source rendering engine shared with Google Chrome
  • improved UI in version 4
  • Clean uncluttered user interface
  • Much faster than IE or Firefox
  • fastest JavaScript engine of any browser (version 4)

Cons

  • No native Linux support

Competitors

Yale prefers Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome over Safari
Yale prefers Safari over Windows Internet Explorer
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

lonehunter

avatar
January 4, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
80
negative
mixed
positive
4 pros
1 con

Pros

  • Text boxes can be resized
  • Very cool find interface
  • Easy to read fonts
  • doesnt crash as easily as IE

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions

Competitors

lonehunter prefers Mozilla Firefox over Safari
lonehunter prefers Safari over Windows Internet Explorer, Opera, Google Chrome
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

kayleech

avatar
April 3, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
60
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
2 cons
love itlove it
have ithave it

Pros

  • Text boxes can be resized
  • Very cool find interface
  • Easy to read fonts

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions
  • Can't press "/" to bring up find

Competitors

kayleech prefers Safari over Windows Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

hartleyadam884

avatar
December 6, 2007
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
60
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
2 cons
want itwant it
love itlove it
have ithave it

Pros

  • Text boxes can be resized
  • Very cool find interface
  • Easy to read fonts

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions
  • Can't press "/" to bring up find

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Ian Kraemer

avatar
August 8, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
75
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
1 con
have ithave it
love itlove it

Pros

  • Open source rendering engine shared with Google Chrome
  • doesnt crash as easily as IE
  • It's design is great

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No
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