New Version of Safari Web Browser is Available

Apple today announced the public beta of Safari® 4 for Mac and Windows PCs. The Nitro engine in Safari 4 runs JavaScript 4.2 times faster than Safari 3. Innovative new features that make browsing more intuitive and enjoyable include Top Sites, a stunning visual preview of frequently visited pages; Full History Search, to search through titles, web addresses and the complete text of recently viewed pages; Cover Flow, to easily flip through web history or bookmarks; and Tabs on Top, to make tabbed browsing easier and more intuitive.

Apple claims that the new Nitro JavaScript engine executes JavaScript up to 30 times faster than IE 7 and more than three times faster than Firefox 3. Safari loads HTML web pages three times faster than IE 7 and almost three times faster than Firefox 3.

Safari 4 includes HTML 5 support for offline technologies so web-based applications can store information locally without an Internet connection, and is the first browser to support advanced CSS Effects that enable highly polished web graphics using reflections, gradients and precision masks. The browser passes the Web Standards Project’s Acid3 test, which examines how well a browser adheres to CSS, JavaScript, XML and SVG web standards that are specifically designed for dynamic web applications.

Features in Safari 4 include

• Top Sites, a display of frequently visited pages in a stunning wall of previews so users can jump to their favorite sites with a single click;

• Full History Search, where users search through titles, web addresses and the complete text of recently viewed pages to easily return to sites they’ve seen before;

• Cover Flow, to make searching web history or bookmarks as fun and easy as paging through album art in iTunes.

• Tabs on Top, for better tabbed browsing with easy drag-and-drop tab management tools and an intuitive button for opening new ones.

• Smart Address Field, that automatically completes web addresses by displaying an easy-to-read list of suggestions from Top Sites, bookmarks and browsing history.

• Smart Search Field, where users fine-tune searches with recommendations from Google Suggest or a list of recent searches.

• Full Page Zoom, for a closer look at any website without degrading the quality of the site’s layout and text.

• built-in web developer tools to debug, tweak and optimize a website for peak performance and compatibility.

• A new Windows-native look in Safari for Windows, that uses standard Windows font rendering and native title bar, borders and toolbars so Safari fits the look and feel of other Windows XP and Windows Vista applications.

Safari 4 is currently a public beta for both Mac OS X and Windows and is available immediately as a free download at safari.