Apple claims 11 million downloads of Safari 4

Introduced Monday following a multi-month public beta test, Apple bills Safari 4 as “the world’s fastest, most innovative browser,” saying its new Nitro JavaScript engine that executes JavaScript nearly eight times faster than IE 8 and more than four times faster than Firefox 3. The Cupertino, Calif-based company’s test also show it to load HTML web pages more than three times faster than IE 8 and three times faster than Firefox 3.

“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 4 includes HTML 5 support for offline technologies and showcases support for advanced CSS Effects, enabling an entirely new class of web applications that feature rich media, graphics and fonts. The Apple browser 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 that are specifically designed for dynamic web applications.

iTunes store or Amazon?

I must admit that I love the Apple iTunes store. The ease of use and incredible library makes it hard not to like. But of course there are alternatives, and the best “other” store I have used is the Amazon MP3 store.

It used to be the less expensive option, but with the recent price increases, the Amazon MP3 store has raised it’s prices of new tracks to match Apple’s $1.29 price point.

The only reason I’d recommend the Amazon store over Apple, is for the great deals that they come out with on a daily basis. I purchased the “Who’s Next” album by the Who for $1.99 last month, and of course it was DRM free. Apple iTunes current price is $11.99.

Amazon.com offers 770 MP3 song downloads for free in its Amazon MP3 Store. Choose songs from artists such as Flight of the Conchords, Iron & Wine, Fleet Foxes, Neko Case, Beirut, The Aggrolites, and more. Amazon MP3 Downloader is required.