Facebook Unveils App Center

Facebook stated in May that it would be starting a centralized location for Apps that ran on its platform and on June 7 that Facebook App Center went live during a glitzy media event in California. The App Center was created for the thousands of socially enabled apps on the Facebook platform easier to search and find.

Previously there was no way to search games or other apps easily and most users ended up being sent requests from friends to try games or apps. This process was not a good discovery method for Facebook users because it did not necessarily show a person apps they were interested in. The App Center is being showcased as a method to not only allow the user to search freely but also get recommended apps that are more aligned with their interests.

The App Center will be accessible on Facebook’s website and will also get mobile version for iOS and Android powered devices. Users will be able to see the The App Center on the left hand menu of their main Facebook page. The new feature will suggest apps based on users interests, what types of Apps their circle of friend are using or a user’s previous favorite apps. The App Center includes some standard features as well including ratings for the apps, descriptions, screen shots and other details about each app so that the decision making process is easier. A new feature that users will find interesting is the “Send to Mobile” button on some app pages. This will allow the user to send the application link to their mobile device so that a mobile version can be downloaded and installed.

At its initial launch, the App Center had about 600 Facebook apps which were added after they went through quality inspections by the Social Network’s staff. As expected, most of the apps currently available on the App Center are games likes Zynga’s Farmville and Sims.