Facebook bets on mobile app
SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook released a “camera” application on Thursday that lets people take Instagram-style pictures that can be shared with iPhones.The stand-alone application synchs to the leading social network, letting friends consult one another’s photos.The new mobile app “makes using Facebook photos faster and easier,” according to product manager Dirk Stoop.
“You’ll see a feed of great photos from the people you care about,” Stoop said in a Facebook post. “You can swipe to see more of any album or tap to enlarge an individual photo.”The mini-program also let people share pictures simultaneously instead of having to post them one at a time to the social network.Facebook Camera was due to be available at Apple’s online App Store late on Thursday.
The Menlo Park, California-based social network made a billion-dollar deal in April to buy the startup behind wildly popular smartphone photo sharing application Instagram.The big ticket purchase was seen by some as a move by Facebook to strengthen defences against Google and blazingly hot newcomer Pinterest.
An Instagram application tuned to Apple’s iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices has been downloaded more than 30 million times since the first version was released in late 2010 by the San Francisco startup.A version of the application tailored for smartphones powered by Google-backed Android software racked up more than a million users in the 24 hours after its recent release.
Word of Facebook Camera came in the aftermath of an initial public offering of stock that made insiders and investors rich but left small buyers feel abused.Lack of a clear strategy for making money from users who connect to the social network using smartphones or tablet computers was considered to be among the reasons Facebook stock sank below its opening price of $38 per share.
Facebook stock reversed its losing trend on Thursday, inching up to $33.03 a share from $31.99 a day earlier after the close of trading.More than a half-dozen law firms said that they were launching class action suits against the networking giant and its underwriters.
Category: Business, Business News
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