Facebook Owns The Desktop – Can They Start Owning The Mobile This Week?

There is no disputing the fact that Facebook dominates the desktop. It’s the most visited website in many countries around the world and it’s the place where people spend the most time on the internet. If you are using a desktop or laptop then there is a very good chance you are a Facebook user and you use it for long periods of time. For all that domination though the same stats don’t stack up on mobile devices. People certainly use Facebook on their mobile but not to the extent that they do on computers but all that could be about to change this week.

Don’t They Already Own Mobile?

Well with over 350 people using Facebook on their mobile and their app being the number one download on the app Apple app store since day one you could argue that they already have a huge presence on mobile but it’s not enough. Unlike when most people switch their computer on they don’t all automatically go to the Facebook app. There are also hundreds of other distractions on the phone (games, calls, SMS etc) that are non Facebook related. What Facebook will try and do this week is launch their new platform that means you can do all those things from within the browser using HTML5. Why use SMS when you can Facebook message people? Why download apps when you can get your favorite Facebook games within the browser? Why have a photo sharing app when you can do it all from within Facebook in a more social way? Facebook are marginalized on the phone at the moment and vulnerable to a certain extent and they want to change that as soon as possible.

It Relies On Apple

The relationship between Apple and Facebook has always been frosty. They are starting to compete as media distribution platforms but the one thing that they have in common and what is driving them closer together is mutual ambition of toppling Google. They both have a great chance of taking on Google on their own but together they could become an unstoppable force. For the past couple of years the relationship has been in meltdown but as Apple prepares to launch the iPhone 5 on Tuesday all the noises coming out of both companies is that there has been a reconciliation. Depending on who you believe they could launch everything from the famous iPad app, a new iPhone app, deep integration with iOS5 and even Facebook’s own famous project spartan.

It All Boils Down To Revenues

Why have Apple and Facebook not been playing ball together up until now? Money. Why are they suddenly coming together to challenge Google? To make more money. Apple are terrified that Facebook could eat in to their app revenues and start to go after the 30% cut that they cream off developers and publishers. Having said that Apple makes far more money from devices like phones and iPads so making sure that consumers have a far superior experience on their iOS devices than anything they ever could on say Android will ultimately mean more sales there. What is uniting both companies is their mutual enemy Google and even though they are having to grit their teeth to do it working together could help them beat the search giant on sever fronts. For all of us as end consumers the prospect of an Apple Facebook relationship can only be good.