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Facebook for Android Updated With Location-Based Deals

By: , IntoMobile
Friday, January 28th, 2011 at 10:17 AM
Android-Facebook-deals

Following up on their December update with chat and push notifications, Facebook is launching a new discount engine for their Android app; now when you use Places to check in and share where you are with your social network, businesses can offer you particular perks. Participating locals have a yellow icon next to them if they do offer anything, so you can spot deals within your vicinity.

Now that the infrastructure is in place, it shouldn’t take long for other Places-enabled Facebook apps on iPhone, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry to catch up. Although Foursquare has been playing in this location-based advertising area for awhile now, Facebook has an extremely far reach, and could make that style of consumer/business interaction a bit more mainstream. Though that’s mostly dependent on smartphone penetration, Facebook has been smart by supporting feature phones; toss a bit of cell tower recognition in there, and even the lowliest of handsets can become location-aware.

Personally, I haven’t found I’m too susceptible to location-based ads; checking-in to locations has been a side effect of me going where I go, not usually the force that steers me there. That being said, I think Google Maps has a better chance of pulling off successful location ads than anyone right now.

In any case, if you’re packing an Android phone and want to see if there are any deals in your area, you can find Facebook in the Android Market.

[via Facebook]

About The Author

Simon Sage

Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Simon-Yu/100000989859895 Simon Yu

    Oh now.. does this officially make Facebook beat Foursqare? Since Foursquare doesn’t really offer to many discounts and what not, and mainly only if you’re mayor which is difficult to obtain and popular locations.