Facebook App Center goes live in Ireland and the UK (UPDATE)

6 Jul 2012

Just weeks after going live in the US, Facebook has revealed the Facebook App Center is now rolling out in the UK. It has also gone live in Ireland, but Facebook’s press people didn’t seem to be aware of that.

When we enquired earlier Facebook’s press people didn’t seem to know when the App Center would be going live in Ireland. But many users in Ireland may notice that if they look closely, the App Centre is indeed live in Ireland.

Users can access it via a bookmark on the left-hand side of their News feeds or through a link.

The App Center features many European-based apps, such as Deezer, The Guardian, King.com games and Livesport.TV.

What apps are your friends using?

One of the key attractions of Facebook’s new App Center is it highlights the kind of apps a user’s friends are using. It also functions as a comprehensive shop window with screenshots and detailed descriptions of an app before a user attempts to install it.

It began rolling out to users in the US in June, with more than 600 apps available and will become available to all users worldwide in the coming weeks, Facebook said.

The App Center features mobile and web apps, such as Draw Something, Pinterest, and Nike+ GPS, and new apps including Jetpack Joyride, Ghosts of Mistwood, and Ghost Recon Commander.

The App Center gives users personalised recommendations and lets them browse the apps their friends use. It only lists high-quality apps, based on feedback from people who use the app. To make it easier to find social apps for mobile, the App Center is available in the Facebook iOS and Android apps, as well as Facebook.com.

Users can send apps they find on their computers to their mobile devices using the new “Send to Mobile” feature. If a mobile app requires a download, the user will be sent to install it from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com