Facebook Intros App Center

Facebook this week launched the App Center to give developers another way to grow their social apps. In coming weeks, Facebook users will be able to access the App Center on the web and in the iOS and Android Facebook apps. In a blog post, the company said the App Center will become the new, central place to find apps like Draw Something, Pinterest, Spotify, Battle Pirates, Viddy and Bubble Witch Saga. The apps will come with a detail page designed to help people see what makes an app unique and let them install it before going to an app. Discovery long has been a big pain point in the apps ecosystem, points outYankee Group’s senior analyst Jason Armitage. Facebook has deep insight into the interests of nearly a billion users, a service that members log into several times a day and rich analytics on engagement. In return, he said, Facebook will get improved visibility into mobile device users and the promise of future revenue from in-app ads and payments. “Will Facebook's channel prove compelling to developers?,” Armitage asks. “Yankee Group sees strong incentives for Web developers and companies that want to escape the two main app storefronts to use the App Center. But don't expect wholesale migrations by top developers.” Apple can point to existing billing relationships with customers, while Google has attractive in-app commerce features, he said. “For developers of premium apps, Facebook will become another – not the unique – distribution platform. However, Facebook's entry will place pressure on the Big Two to revisit the terms offered to their partners.” Facebook revealed in an amended IPO filing this week that more than half of its 900 million users now access its mobile site, but because ads on its mobile site are limited, that has not resulted in an increase in ad revenue. As more people use Facebook on mobile than on desktop, that may negatively affect the company’s financial results.