Apple takes iTunes users on surprise Safari

INBOX:ON THE internet, there is a generally accepted law which most believe in but which is broken every day: don't spam. In other words, don't send me something unless I've requested it. Big, reputable companies are usually wary of being accused of spamming. But last week Apple sailed very close to the spam wind, writes Mike Butcher.

Any user of the iTunes Music Store knows they need iTunes software to access it. You can't get to it from a web browser, and the only company that makes the software is Apple. Now and again Apple needs to update the software, so it sends out an automatic update to users, who duly download the new version.

But last Friday Apple did something quite different. It gave users the option of downloading Safari, the web browser made by Apple and which it claims is faster than most other browsers, including Microsoft's Internet Explorer. This wasn't strictly spamming - users had to select the browser along with the iTunes update - but it was incredibly cheeky, usually the practice of less reputable firms. On offer was new software, not something a user had requested.

The strategy was clear. Apple wants a bigger share of the browser market, where it is currently a minnow.

In February this year, Internet Explorer had a 74.9 per cent share of the browser market in terms of usage, while Firefox had 17.3 per cent and Safari had 5.7 per cent, according to figures from research house Net Applications.

There are one million downloads of iTunes software a day. Some 500 million downloads have been to Windows PCs, which come with Internet Explorer.

However, having decided to download Safari, users might well be in for a little surprise. Recent speed tests of the various web browsers, by Irish IT consultant Tom Raftery (TomRafteryIT.net), showed some interesting results.

The slowest browser at downloading an average single webpage turned out to be Internet Explorer 7 (at 66 milliseconds a page). Faster (at 34 milliseconds) was Firefox 2, the free browser that competes with Explorer. Next was Safari (21 milliseconds), followed by the Opera browser (16 milliseconds).

But at nine milliseconds per page, the fastest of all was a little-known browser called WebKit, which is itself the core engine of the Safari web browser.

Now, generally speaking, the human eye might not notice the difference between Internet Explorer and Safari or WebKit, but if you had a browser that was between four (WebKit) and seven (Safari) times faster, it might make you think twice about using Internet Explorer day in day out.

Though not technically spam, it is clear that Apple pulled a fast one when it offered iTunes users the choice of the Safari browser last week. But many users may find they are glad about it.

It also goes to show that the battle to control the web may have only just begun.