The social networking giant Facebook has revealed its plans to launch an app store of its own to encourage use of its platform as mobile internet engagement continues to expand. Facebook users increasingly use their mobile phones to connect to the networking site and the company behind it is keen to make the most of that trend from a business perspective as it prepares to go public via a stock market floatation.
Although not openly initiating a direct effort to compete with the app stores of Apple and Google, Facebook is clearly keen to see a growing number and range of mobile apps using its platform in the months and years ahead. Indeed, doing so is understood to be a key aim of the company as it moves forward and looks to attract investment.
Aaron Brady from Facebook said that the networking site's app store should be up and running within a matter of weeks. Writing on a company blog, he said: "The App Center is designed to grow mobile apps that use Facebook – whether they're on iOS, Android or the mobile web.
"From the mobile App Center, users can browse apps that are compatible with their device, and if a mobile app requires installation, they will be sent to download the app from the App Store or Google Play."
Brady urged developers interested in creating apps that use Facebook's log in system to get started right away in order to have them available for the forthcoming global launch of the associated app store.
A recent study into patterns of mobile internet use among US consumers revealed recently that apps are now used roughly 82 percent of the time in that context, while Facebook can claim an 84 percent penetration rate in that regard. The research by ComScore in fact gave a good deal of the credit for the popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to the growing prevalence of leading smartphones like the latest Apple iPhone 4s and Samsung's Galaxy S IIs.