Facebook today revealed it has 200 million mobile users and launched a number of important upgrades to its iPhone and Android apps, including the new Groups feature, improved tagging and the ability to add photos beside a Places check-in.
The company also revealed that its recently launched Android app is now pretty much up to speed with the iPhone. It emerged that Facebook had been working with an Android app store to develop its app when suddenly the company was bought by Google, throwing the development team off track.
The new Android app for Facebook will also boast Places and Groups.
It also emerged that Facebook will be providing developers with new APIs to develop compelling new services based around location.
The company is ready to release its Facebook Places Write API to allow developers to push check-ins to Facebook and providing brands with an opportunity to reach out to punters via Facebook Places. Imagine checking in at Starbucks and instantly receiving a voucher for a free coffee!
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that there are now 200 million of the Facebook 500-million user base accessing the social network via their mobiles.
Google today announced the following innovations:
Milestone
· 200 million people around the world are now using Facebook from a phone (tripled in the last year)
Updates for Android
· The new Android 1.4 update includes the launch of Places and Groups
· Android 1.4 also includes a refresh to the notifications application, one of the top requests from our users
Updates for iPhone
· iPhone 3.3 includes the launch of Groups
Deals for Places (US Only)
· With the iPhone 3.3 application, you can also find nearby deals from your favourite businesses – from restaurants to major retailers.
Update for Places
· Ability to add photos when you check in
· Places has been updated to include a starred friends list, making it even faster and easier to tag friends with whom you frequently check-in – no more searching and scrolling
Single sign on
· Now when you’re logged into Facebook, it’s easier for you to log into other applications on your mobile phone with single sign on. Just log into the Facebook application on your mobile phone once. From then on, you can log into any other application on your phone that supports single sign on without typing a user name or password again.
· Single sign ons unlocks the potential for developers to build really great social apps.
