Pushes promotion of apps to major social network

Apple has partnered with marketing firm Vitrue to launch an official App Store application for Facebook. Visitors to the webpage can enter a manual search for iPhone apps, or browse general categories, filtered by paid or free status. Also present are highlighted App of the Week and App Store Essentials promotions, though these options are currently restricted to residents of the US.

The Facebook app also includes sharing options, a dedicated tab for browsing games, and separate Wall and Discussions tabs for leaving comments and questions. As time progresses, Vitrue says it plans to expand the page to make it easier to sort through apps. Apple has increasingly turned to social networking to promote iTunes sales; shoppers can, for instance, share links to music, videos and apps through drop-down menus at the iTunes Store.

by MacNN Staff