Last week we reported on rumors which suggested that Apple is working on integrating facebook into iPhone OS. Today Patently Apple is reporting that Apple had filed a patent in September 2008 (approved in April 2010) which integrates social networks natively into the iPhone OS to perform basic social workflows such as adding a contact.
Facebook is undoubtedly one of the most popular social networks among the masses and considering the fact that almost every other person you know has a facebook account it makes sense for Apple to allow social networks and your iPhone to exchange data.
The patent specifically illustrates adding a contact as a Facebook friend. For example, you can begin the workflow by connecting to facebook and sending a friend request to one of your contacts (target device). Your device could also read the vCard to generate this friend request.
Once you have confirmed the workflow script then the target device could receive the message in the form of a set of instructions which will allow the contact to navigate to facebook and confirm the friend request.
The ability to manage your data and keeping all you contacts in sync certainly sounds like a great idea. Are you excited about Apple integrating Facebook into iPhone OS? Do you see yourself using this functionality? Let us know in the comments section below.
[Patently Apple]
One Comment on ““Apple Patents Facebook Integration Into iPhone OS””
id use it