The browser market is about to get very crowded, with the impending release of Apple’s Safari product on Windows. Apple has previously stayed clear of taking on Microsoft, but thanks to the recent release of the Zune, which Apple executives have taken as a declaration of war, the Apple board have sanctioned the developers to go head to head with other browsers to take on the might of Microsoft.

Aside from trying to strike a blow against their rival, and hopefully start to encourage users to switch to Mac, the main reason why Apple want to get involved in the Windows market is to ensure that there will be an incentive for developers to ensure that websites and online programmes work with the Safari browser, which will be packaged with the iPhone software and iTv platforms.

Apple claims that the Safari Browser loads web pages faster than either Firefox, Opera, or Internet Explorer, runs JavaScript more efficiently, and does not hog system resources like its rivals. They also maintain that the browser is more secure than alternatives, and that even in its current Beta format, it is the most secure browser on the market.

In terms of usability, it shares the same interface as iTunes for Windows, making it familiar to anyone who already has an iPod. And in testing it does appear to be at least as fast as Firefox and IE7 in rendering pages. However, in its current form there seem to be some stability issues, although these will no doubt be corrected in time for its main release.

The biggest problem facing Apple in making people switch to Safari is likely to come in the shape of the next version of Firefox, although many people claim that the likelihood is that Apple will begin to parcel Safari in with the iTunes and Quicktime downloads, making it likely that users will get the chance to use it whether they like it or not.

If the release version of Safari does all that Apple claim it can, and embraces the ease of use which makes Apple products so popular, then the chances are Safari for Windows could get a decent slice of the market, but I wouldn’t expect Microsoft to take another entry into their market lightly, and they could well re enter the Apple OS market, which they withdrew from last year.