Facebook Project Spartan (HTML 5)

Facebook planning to launch an assault on iOS and Apple with its new not-so-secret project codenamed “Spartan”. Spartan is another HTML 5 based platform. No no. Facebook is not really creating another web OS of its own. But this will be more or less close to one.

Salient rumored features include:

• It has been designed categorically for Apple Safari.
• It will not be an app on the Apple App Store, which means
• It will open in the browser,
• Developers will be able to create apps which will be easily integrable with Facebook features (I read somewhere that facebook payments are going to be a part of this wider platform).
• Players such as Zynga and Huffington Post are already helping Facebook out.
• The platform should launch in about a month or so.

Repercussions:

Nothing much is going to change in the immediate term. Basically, facebook is facebook and it is neither Android not iOS. Hence to be honest, it is not going to change things a LOT and people will continue to develop/purchase apps from Apple Store and Android Market. However, facebook will now emerge as an alternative to (and this is going to sound ridiculous), “the web itself”. Remember: Facebook is the best platform as far as targetted advertising is concerned. Apps developed on this new platform will be far more meaningful and more visible since (and think about this), people spend more time on Facebook than they do on, say, the Android Market. Hence the early players who join this game are definitely going to benefit. However, we need to see how facebook actually launches this platform and how acceptable it gets in time.

In conclusion, HTML 5 is going to gain a massive leap.