Facebook App Center: Hands On
Source: Ian Paul
Here is a first look at Facebook's App Center, the social network's take on an app store offering a centralized place to find more than 600 Facebook and Facebook-related apps.
Facebook recently launched App Center, the social network's take on an app store offering a centralized place to find more than 600 Facebook and Facebook-related apps. Think of App Center as one part showcase for mobile apps and third-party sites that use Facebook logins, and one part discovery hub for games and other features you can use inside Facebook.com.
You can, for example, find apps for Android and iPhone devices that require or offer Facebook logins and have an alert sent directly to your mobile device to install the app. You can also use App Center to find games to play on Facebook.com, or apps to display on your Timeline. App Center also includes a section to easily accept or block all your game and app requests.
App Center is not meant to be a replacement for the App Store or Google Play, but a funnel to access apps you'd like to use. Good luck finding apps though, as App Center lacks a basic search function. That said, App Center may be able to surface some good content for you since Facebook knows so much about your preferences and can share with you which apps your friends are using (more on that later). For now, however, don't expect App Center to replace browsing around the App Store or Google Play.
That raises another question: if App Center isn't a replacement for other app stores, Facebook's ultimate goal for App Center is anybody's guess. Could this be yet another piece in Facebook's mobile strategy that some critics say will culminate in a Facebook smartphone? The company already has key components for its own handset such as camera and messaging mobile apps. An app store would also be an important addition to any smartphone platform.
Perhaps the App Center is just a tool to help you find more things to do with Facebook to keep you connected to the social network, a concept that would be sure to please the company's new investors. Or perhaps App Center and its app approval process will eventually replace Facebook's current wild west approach to apps that has bred many malicious apps on Facebook.com.
Or Maybe Facebook's goals include all of the above. Like I said, it's anybody's guess.
App Center is available on your desktop as well as mobile devices. Here's a quick look at the desktop version of App Center.
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