Safari Extensions

With the new update to Safari 5.0.1 - Apple has finally included the use of extensions.  This offers a unique way for companies and brands to program applications that exist on several platforms.  While Firefox has had plugins and extensions for (pretty much) ever, now that Safari has joined the mix you might begin to wonder if there will be any cross transformation from iPhone apps to the Safari browser.  While the extensions certainly aren't meant to be (or can be) 3D games of any sort - there are opportunities for more utility and information based applications to have a presence on both your browser and phone.  There could also be opportunities (if the application requires a login) for the iPhone application and browser extension to communicate and update each other almost as a sync/push based technology.

Here are a few cool extensions that have recently launched:

New York Times Updates: provides news updates that can be readable right at the top of your browser (reloads every 5 minutes)

Twitter for Safari: sends the extension updating trending topics (would love to see this become more of an in-browser based application that would let you interact with your Twitter account, i.e., what Twitter for iPhone does or Tweetdeck does)

Weather Channel: has a tiny box up at the top of your browser that has current weather conditions - very small and cool.

Add to Amazon Wish List: even if you're browsing another website - you can click a button in your browser that adds that item to your Amazon wish list - pretty cool!

MLB.com Toolbar: similar to the NYTimes extension - except it's for baseball stats and updates.

This is very new and hasn't even been explored at full length yet.  Exciting to see where it leads and how much cross-platform integration will be developed (especially as Apple TV launches in the fall).