Facebook to launch its own app store in the coming weeks

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Facebook on Wednesday announced it will be launching a new App Center in the coming weeks on the Web, iOS and Android. The company hopes the center will give developers a way to more effectively distribute apps and create new opportunities for more types of apps to be successful. “The App Center is designed to grow mobile apps that use Facebook – whether they’re on iOS, Android or the mobile web,” the company said. “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.” The social networking site is more to more than 900 million users and seems like a natural fit for app developers looking for the maximum amount of exposure.

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Confirmed: New iPhone Will Be Longer and Thinner and Have Smaller Dock Connector

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 iLounge editor Jeremy Horwitz posted details about the new iPhone, due out this Fall. Why should we believe these specs? Before new iPad launch, he claimed to have held the actual device, and went on to report some of the features that wound up in the “New iPad.” Some of the details were ringers, but maybe that’s part of the game. Horwitz’s latest reports that the device have a longer 4-inch screen, Gorilla Glass 2 on the front, metal on the back, and a new, smaller dock connector 

These details match up with and expand upon his earlier reports, so this is seeming pretty credible. Here is an excerpt of his report:Yesterday, iLounge editor Jeremy Horwitz posted details about the new iPhone, due out this Fall. Why should we believe these specs? Before new iPad launch, he claimed to have held the actual device, and went on to report some of the features that wound up in the “New iPad.” Some of the details were ringers, but maybe that’s part of the game. Horwitz’s latest reports that the device have a longer 4-inch screen, Gorilla Glass 2 on the front, metal on the back, and a new, smaller dock connector.

…the new iPhone will indeed be longer and thinner than the iPhone 4 and 4S. Approximate measurements are 125mm by 58.5mm by 7.4mm—a 10mm jump in height, nearly 2mm reduction in thickness, and virtually identical width. According to our source, Apple will make one major change to the rear casing, adding a metal panel to the central back of the new iPhone. This panel will be flat, not curved, and metal, not ceramic. Our artist’s rendition provides a rough idea of what this change will look like; it echoes the current-generation iMac design, to be sure.

Horwitz speculates that Apple is enlarging the display from 3.5-inches to 4-inches diagonally, which “will change the new iPhone’s aspect ratio for the first time since the original iPhone was introduced in 2007, adding additional pixels to the top and bottom of the screen.” It will be interesting to see what kinds of new app functionality will be facilitated by this extra screen real estate and also what complications this creates for developers who will now have the pristine iPhone platform fragmented into an additional spec beyond the retina/non-retina divide.

The new, smaller dock connector will also be rolled out all new iOS devices including the next iPod touch.

9to5Mac also reports that “iLounge often, but not always, fielded correct Apple information and has multiple sources inside the case-making industry due to its CES iLounge affiliations.” We’ll have to wait til the fall to see how good his connections really are.

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