Apple adds extensions in Safari 5.0.1

28 July 2010 14:25 GMT / By Paul Lamkin

We've just had word from Cupertino that Apple has released an update for its Safari browser.

Safari 5.0.1 is more than just a bug fixing update, it is the official turning-on of Apple's latest app based foray - the Safari Extensions Gallery.

Safari introduced the 5th instalment of its web browser back in June, and we knew extensions were coming, but this is the first time Apple has opened up the Extensions Gallery.

“Safari 5 has been a big hit, and user response to the innovative new Safari Reader has been fantastic”, said Brian Croll, Apple’s vice president of OS X product marketing.

“We’re thrilled to see so many leading developers creating great extensions and think our users are going to love being able to customise Safari”.

A couple of the early notable entries to the Extensions Gallery include a one-click Amazon wish-list button, a NY Times extension and an eBay manager.

And, maybe not surprising given the recent bad blood between Apple and Google, there are also some Bing features as well.

“We’re excited to continue working closely with Apple to bring visually compelling Bing experiences to Safari”, said Jeff Henshaw, general manager of Bing user experience.

“The Bing extension for Safari brings Bing search intelligence to everyday browsing with Safari. When a user selects text in Safari, Bing instantly recognises what they might need and pops up helpful, informative tips, from real time maps and driving directions to real time translations to direct web search results”.

Safari Extensions are created with new web standards such as HTML 5, CSS3 and existing ones like JavaScript, and each one has to pass Apple's tests before being made available and receiving a certificate (sound familiar?).

To take a look at the new extension-friendly Safari 5 head over to the website and download version 5.0.1.

Once you've given it a spin - let us know what you think using the comments below.

Full tags

Safari, Browsers