Apple’s (AAPL) idea of making its Safari browser available for Windows so that it will run on PCs did not get much of a reception. The browser only has about 5% of the market, mostly from the sales of Macs.
But, that would be to miss what may be Apple’s plan. The Microsoft (MSFT) Internet Explorer brings that software company a number of advantages. The "home" setting usually starts on Microsoft.com or MSN, giving Redmond an instant audience. The search tab uses Microsoft’s search engine. The "links" section of the browser included Windows Media, Hotmail, and Windows Marketplace. The tool tab includes Window Messenger. It is, in short, a very valuable piece of real estate.
If Apple’s "coolness" driven by the success of the Mac and iPod get help drive downloads of the Safari browser, it gets a number of other pieces of Apple software onto the PC. If Apple adopts Google (GOOG) as the default search feature in its browser, the challenge to Microsoft multiplies.
Safari’s browser is more than Jobs’ newest toy.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.
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