Apple News, Analysis and Podcasts

With the release of iOS 5 and Mac OS 10.7.2, Apple has added iCloud features to both operating systems. One of the applications that has benefited is Safari, Apple's default web browser.

The big new feature for Safari is bookmarks and reading list syncing. With these features, users can sync bookmarks and reading lists with other Macs and iOS devices.  In this review, I will look at how these features compare with other syncing services available. 

Ever since Web 2.0, users have been trying to find a place to store, share and sync bookmarks. There have been several attempts including Delicious, Xmarks, and Pinboard. These sites allow users to access and share their bookmarks from any web browser. Yet, they all suffer the same problem. Since they are all web based, access to those bookmarks is much slower than bookmarks saved on the computer. Also, bookmarks saved in the browser can be quickly accessed from the address bar, making navigation even faster.

Now that iCloud is here, Safari can now sync bookmarks with any Mac or iOS device. While one can't sync with Chrome or Firefox yet, it is fast, and happens completely in the background without any user intervention. It only takes a couple of seconds for the new bookmarks to show up in other devices. iCloud syncing does not allow bookmark sharing, while the other services do. I have never used this feature and find other services to be a better place to share bookmarks, and with iOS's Twitter integration, Apple must think so too. I have used all of these services and have completely switched to iCloud and I not looking back.

The concept of a reading list was created a few years ago with sites like Instapaper and Readitlater. These sites let users save articles or web sites to read later. They also strip sites down to just their content (such as article and pictures). They both have iOS applications that can download the site so users can read it offline. I have tried both and have used Instapaper as a place to store temporary sites that I wanted to go back to or read later. iCloud has changed all that.

iCloud syncing has replaced Instpaper as a place to store temporary links for me. With iOS 5, Apple has added a reading list to Safari that also syncs with Safari on the Mac. Another feature which Apple added to the iOS 5 is "Reader", which is an icon that appears in the address bar for some sites. When Reader is invoked, Safari removes the clutter, leaving just the content – making it easier to read. Instapaper could sync with its iOS app, but it was slow and had manual sync. The only feature still missing in iOS Safari from the reading list applications is the ability to download a link to read it later off-line on an iOS device. While off-line viewing would be nice, the advantages of iCloud easily outweigh the shortcomings. iCloud is the place I store all my temporary and permanent links.

With iCloud, Apple has tied the iOS and Mac versions of Safari closer together. Users now can freely move between computer or mobile device, while keeping all the bookmarks in sync with each other seamlessly in the background. Apple has made an already great browser even better. Once users become familiar with the new features, they'll find it hard to use another browser.

1 Comment

1. HDBoy ~ October 20, 2011 12:46
   Syncing Safari bookmarks between Macs and iOS devices is not new — Apple MobileMe customers have been able to do this for at least two years. However, the sync service is now free with the introduction of Apple's iCloud. Indeed, Apple's bookmark, contacts, e-mail, notes and calendar syncing between devices is excellent!

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