Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
BY EVAN THOMAS
ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE
The Facebook App Center has arrived. Applications for the web and mobile devices began rolling
out to Facebook’s userbase on Thursday. WCVB explains — Facebook wants it to be
a one-stop shop.
“It will initially feature about 600 apps, mostly games. The company is betting that
by personalizing recommendations to users, people will find new types of applications
beyond games.”
The App Center collects and displays applications from the the iOS app store and from Google
Play, plus web apps available on Facebook itself. Users get relevant recommendations
based on the rated quality of apps and what their Facebook friends are interested in.
Facebook says there’s a ‘send to mobile’ feature built in, with which you can send
any application you find to your mobile device with a single click. The App Store or Google
Play will open automatically.
A writer for CNET toured through some of the App Center’s features, in both desktop and
mobile environments.
"Conceptually, App Center seems like a winner to me. I found its recommendations helpful
and the Friends' apps list very interesting, to say the least. All that said, I can honestly
say that I'll use it. On the other hand, the interface still has some kinks to work out,
especially on mobile devices."
So the App Center is functional. But what about behind the scenes?
Facebook explained it directed 83 million visits to Apple’s App Store last month,
and triggered 134 million visits to various apps. Business Insider says Apple’s benefiting
from this partnership, and Facebook probably knows it.
"Translation: Apple is highly dependent on Facebook for app downloads and usage. Now,
through Facebook's App Center, the social network is going to take much tighter control
over how that traffic flows to Apple."
But ZDNet says Facebook’s not looking to compete with existing app stores. This is
an opportunity for cooperation.
“…Facebook looks more like it’s trying to build off of those sources, positioning
its new App Center as a launching pad to these app stores and medium to help everyone out.”
But that doesn’t mean Facebook won’t get a juicy cut. VentureBeat explains.
“Eventually, you will likely see Facebook launching paid apps directly from the App
Center and Facebook Credits as a nice path to monetization for developers. And when developers
monetize via Credits, Facebook wins to the tune of 30 percent.”
The App Center is still in limited debut. Facebook says it will be available to everyone
in the coming weeks. To see if you’re already in, head to facebook.com/appcenter.