Facebook has just announced that it will be launching its own app store called the App Center, “a new place for people to find social apps,†as well as to give developers “an additional way to grow their apps and creates opportunities for more types of apps to be successful.â€
This will showcase quality apps that use Facebook logins and will be available on the web, as well as in iOS and Android Facebook apps in the coming weeks.
The App Center, however, will not directly compete with app market leaders such as Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store but rather will work hand-in-hand with them. “From the mobile App Center, users can browse apps that are compatible with their device, and if a mobile app requires installation, they will be sent to download the app from the App Store or Google Play.†This will help you find cool social apps such as Draw Something a lot easier.
This direction will also help Facebook provide a win-win situation with developers by letting them offer paid apps. “This is a simple-to-implement payment feature that lets people pay a flat fee to use an app on Facebook.com.†Of course, the social media giant takes a cut from these fees.
In a nutshell, Facebook is gearing up to become a top distributor for developers and mobile web applications. Similar to what McDonald’s is doing for Coca Cola. With over 900 million Facebook users worldwide, this is definitely a big opportunity.
For more info, you can visit the Facebook Developer page here.
What do you guys think? Will you pay for Facebook apps? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Hi Louie, loved to read the about the upcoming featured app canter of Facebook. With a bigger part of population on Facebook these applications would beneficial for many. It is certainly an opportunity for the application developers to get noticed quickly.