Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Linkedin Corporation (NYSE:LNKD) rolled out new upgrades for its mobile platforms this week to provide better user experience.
Yesterday, the social network giant conducted its Mobile Developer Conference in New York City and introduced the next evolution Facebook platform for mobile.
According to Douglas Purdy, director of product management for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), its mobile SDK allows developers to create social apps easier and faster. The company also announced a new partner program to help developers integrate Facebook on various mobile platforms.
In addition, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) said it is improving its Facebook Login, and will be launching the Open Graph on mobile, and it will release the Facebook SDK 3.5 for iOS. These upgrades are part of the social network giant’s transition efforts into a mobile-first platform.
In his blog post, Purdy emphasized that more than 81 percent and 70 percent of the top grossing iOS apps and Android apps respectively, are integrated with Facebook. According to him, the new tools released by the company will help developers create even more high quality mobile apps to integrate with Facebook for its more than 680 million mobile users.
Purdy explained that the new Object API for the Open Graph allows developers to create objects without the need for a web server. Developers will be able to use the Object API for both mobile and web apps.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) also introduced the Object Browser, a simple visual interface that helps developers interact with every object data they published. Purdy said, “The current public object model makes it harder for certain categories of apps to use Open Graph. To solve this, we’re introducing an object privacy model to improve sharing for user generated content. With support for object privacy, user owned objects make it easier for people to tell their stories from mobile devices.”
Furthermore, Purdy introduced the native sharing dialog, which allows developers to build sharing experiences for users with one line of code. The feature has built-in support for publishing Open Graph actions and enables users to share their activities without the need to login to their Facebook account.
Moreover, Facebook’s new Login Dialogs for both mobile and web are faster and user friendly. Purdy emphasized that the new dialog for mobile is now 20 percent faster.
On the other hand, Linkedin Corporation (NYSE:LNKD) redesigned the mobile version of its platform front to back to create a more delightful interaction for users, according to Tomer Cohen, product lead for the company’s mobile unit.
In a blog post, Cohen wrote, “We’re excited to unveil a brand new mobile phone experience, completely revamped with the general professional and everyday use in mind. We want to make it easier for our members to quickly discover and engage with the rich professional insights being shared across LinkedIn to help them make smarter decisions from wherever they may be working. We’ve designed the new LinkedIn mobile phone app for every professional, with a richer and more engaging stream and more personalization features.”
Linkedin Corporation (NYSE:LNKD) improved the streaming experience and expanded its localization and language offerings for users. The company said its apps is now available in 15 languages, and it is planning to roll out more search and personalization updates for mobile this year.
