It's been no secret that Apple has high hopes to inject its Safari browser into the Windows market. The browser, which Apple CEO Steve Jobs believes the "most innovative browser in the world and the most powerful browser in the world", was packaged as an incongruous pre-checked option in iTunes. This led many users to willing or unwilling install it and led Mozilla's CEO John Lilly to equate it to malware.
Did Apple's gambit work? The answer depends on how you interpret the numbers. After holding steadily at a very small market share of about 0.07 percent on Windows computers throughout 2007, in the month of March the browser share jumped to 0.21 percent. The increase, nearly three-fold could be attributed to two major changes -- the release of the packaged update on March 18, and the release of the latest version of the browser for Windows (the new version is v3.1, previous version was v3.0).
The numbers can be viewed in two ways, really. If you wanted to perceive a positive trend, you could point out that a mere two tenths of a percent means a couple million customers switched to the browser, due to Windows' vast installed base. Further, the three-fold growth, if continued, could soon amount to sizeable numbers.
On the other hand, a 0.21 percent market share is still orders of magnitude less than the two dominant Windows browsers, Microsoft's own Internet Explorer, and Mozilla's Firefox browser. With the iTunes Windows base estimated to be over 100 million, the relatively small install numbers would indicate that most users were unchecking the box, and making a conscious decision not to install Safari.
Safari’s mixed numbers perhaps serve as a reflection of the browser itself. Some reviews, such as a recent article in PC Magazine, laud the browser as intuitive, fast, and unique. They point to its ability to use Firefox plugins and its high standards compliance. However, others are not so flattering, pointing out that Safari has proven the most easily hacked major browser at recent security shows, based on Apple's slow pace of bug fixes.
Another way of looking at Safari's situation in the market is in terms of reputation. While the browser itself has earned praise, only a few have commended Apple's tactics of packaging the browser as part of the update. Apple 2.0's Philip Elmer-DeWitt is among the few who praise the effort, remarking that it "worked rather well", while citing criticism in passing. They point out that Apple on April 18 revised the download to be unchecked by default. Many, like Mozilla's Lilly have offered criticism of the practice.
The controversy is over to some extent now that Apple unchecking the box to install Safari. While being able to download it from iTunes may increase its numbers in the wild somewhat, continued growth of the browser will hinge on two key factors -- the quality of the browser and public perception. And as with most topics relating to Apple, the company's success on these two factors will likely depend on whom you ask.