Facebook To Launch Its Own App Store

Facebook has already conquered our computers. Now it's looking to conquer our smartphones as well, and its latest move may do just that.

Facebook announced yesterday that it will be launching its own app store, where users can find the most popular applications all in one place. For a small fee, developers will be able to list their apps in the store for all of Facebook's 900 millions users to see, and potentially buy.

The App Center will bring Facebook’s 900 million users all the best in iOS apps, Android apps, web apps, mobile web apps, and even desktop apps. “The goal is to solve the app discovery problem… based on what you and your friends enjoy,” a Facebook rep told VentureBeat in a phone chat today.

You won’t just find free apps here, either. Facebook is also introducing paid apps. The company stated it expects in-app purchases to be developers’ primary money-makers for the time being; however, making paid apps available through the Facebook platform is the beginning of a very interesting business opportunity, both for [developers] and for Facebook.

The service will not be in direct competition with the likes of Apple's iTunes Store or Google Play. Instead, Facebook's app store will provide links to the apps that can be download from those services. So in this case, it seems like the Facebook "app store" is more like a store front than a proper store.

Still, it's a big move for Facebook, and a great way for developers to get their products out to the masses. It will be interesting to see how this progresses.