14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook has finally did it, after months of speculation and rumors, it launched its Facebook app and, more importantly, it debuted its mobile app platform.
It's been a long journey up to this point, though Facebook wouldn't let it known. A great battle between Facebook and Apple was waged behind closed doors, but it now seems like Apple has won, or at least, got the better part of the deal.
With the extension of the Facebook Platform to mobile devices, developers will be able to build apps that work on desktops, tablets and smartphones, but also integrate more Facebook features into existing mobile apps.
"Today, we are extending Facebook Platform on mobile, bringing all the social channels that have helped apps and games reach hundreds of millions of users on the Web to mobile apps and websites," Facebook's Luke Shepard wrote.
"You can now easily reach the 350 million people who use Facebook every month on a mobile device, including iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and our mobile web site," he said.
Bookmarks, requests and other social app discovery features
The big thing to notice is that, it's not a huge technological push for Facebook. Rather, it is just enabling existing apps to integrate with the Facebook apps and mobile site.
One big way of doing this is via the new mobile Bookmarks menu. Any app you interact with via Facebook will be added to the Bookmark section of the mobile site or the iPad and iPhone app.
When a user launches an app from the Bookmarks section, the app will start if it is already installed or the user will be sent to the appropriate App Store page. If they're using the website, they'll be redirected to the mobile web version of that app, assuming there is one.
There are other ways Facebook is enabling apps to interact with users on mobile devices. For example, requests now show up for mobile users as well, provided, again, that there is a mobile version of that app.
Similarly, app activity now shows up in the News Feed for mobile users as well and use the included link to go to the mobile version of that app.
Credits are mandatory except on Apple devices, where they are forbidden
Facebook is also enabling mobile app developers to use Credits. In fact, its use is mandated for any in-app transactions, just like with the desktop version.
However, developers won't be able to use Credits on any Apple device, either in the native apps or even on the web. This is most likely the big reason why the Facebook app and the mobile platform were held up for this long, but it seems that Facebook caved in the end.
Facebook is launching the new mobile feature with a bunch of mobile apps from long-time Facebook developers.
"Today, you can enjoy apps from Audiovroom, Branchout, Flixster, Gilt Groupe, and Huffington Post, and games from EA, Moblyng, Storm8, Wooga, and Zynga. You can try out these apps by visiting fb.me/mobileappshowcase on your phone or tablet," Facebook announced.
