14 DAY TRIAL // Among the announcements at Facebook's mobile event, was the launch of a new authentication system for mobile apps which enables users to log into Facebook via any third-party app without having to type their credentials every time, which can prove very annoying especially on touch screens.
"Now when you're logged into Facebook, it's easier for you to log in into other applications on your mobile phone with single sign on," Erick Tseng, head of mobile devices at Facebook, announced.
"Gone is that tedious annoyance of having to type in your username and password again on a tiny phone keyboard. Gone are those frustrating moments when you forget one of your many username and password variations and can't access an application," he explained.
The new feature is an extension of Facebook Connect, which was available on mobile phones, but based on the Open Graph APIs Facebook debuted this spring.
Note that single sign on doesn't add an Instant Personalization component to mobile apps, though you can expect it to be available on mobile devices soon.
Practically, users will only have to sign in one, in the Facebook app, and be done with it. The feature is already available with apps from Zynga, SCVNGR, Loopt, Groupon and others on Android phones and it will come to iPhone devices soon.
The hope is that this will drive up engagement with other applications and it's very likely that this will be the case.
But as much as this feature is useful and practical, it signals a much broader strategy at Facebook for mobile devices. The social network doesn't want to be just another app, just another thing you do on your phone, it wants to be the social layer on top of which other apps, features and functionality is built.
This first step will be followed by others, Facebook has also launched a number of APIs aimed at mobile developers, and, at the moment, there isn't anyone in any position to stop or challenge Facebook's move to take over the mobile space.