Following in the wake of Google’s recent release of their Chrome browser for Mac computers, Apple has released the 5^th version of their Safari browser. It boasts the new Safari Reader which can display online articles in their entirety for a clear, uninterrupted reading experience and also sports the option to enlarge, print or send the article via email.

Cupertino calls Safari 5 the “world’s fastest and most innovative web browser”, and claims that the new version runs JavaScript 30% faster than Safari 4, 3% quicker than Chrome 5.0 and over twice as fast as Firefox 3.6 due to its Nitro JavaScript engine. The browser also incorporates the ability to choose Google, Yahoo! or Bing as the preferred search engine for Safari’s search field and a number of HTML5 technologies including HTML5 geolocation which allow for a richer browsing experience. Developers are also able to create secure Safari Extensions that will allow users to customise and enhance the browser. 

“Safari continues to lead the pack in performance, innovation and standards support,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing. “Safari now runs on over 200 million devices worldwide and its open source WebKit engine runs on over 500 million devices.”

It is available for download (31 MB) from Apple’s website for both PC and Mac.