In a move that’s expect to help developers make their applications more social, officials at 175 million-user social networking site Facebook (News - Alert) recently introduced “Facebook Connect” for the Apple iPhone.

 

With the new tool, the IP industry is poised to see hundreds more iPhone (News - Alert) apps that allow users to log into Facebook from within, find their friends and share whatever they’re doing.

 

Pictured below and announced here on Facebook’s site, Facebook Connect will further spread the gospel of a social networking tool that already feels like it’s everywhere.

 

“Whether at login, or anywhere else a developer would like to add social context, the user can authenticate and connect their account in a trusted environment,” Facebook officials say. “The user will have total control of the permissions granted, including offline access, status updates and email addresses. On iPhone, authentication can occur in both Portrait and Landscape orientations.”

 
Facebook has been making big headlines the past few weeks, as the site has been talking integration with the world’s largest maker of cell phones, adds real-time, Twitter-like functionality and debuts on TMCnet‘s Web site.

 

Last week, we reviewed the latest version of the site’s application for the iPhone and iPod Touch, which alerts users of notifications with a similar red mark that a full-screen, PC version of Facebook pops up when something new happens. It allows users to switch easily among their “home” news page, personal profile page, inbox and friends list, and there’s an icon, clearly visible at the top of the screen, that users can click on to update their status.

 

Now, we’re expecting to see more uses of Facebook that are similar to what TMCnet now offers and will offer, including: access to premium content; automated sign-in for TMCnet blog comments; automated Facebook photo included with blog comments; seamless connection to TMCnet applications for iPhone and MobileTMCnet; automated access to free resources including white papers, webinars, podcasts; a simplified process for elimination of multiple log-in names and passwords; and automatically posting one-line stories back to Facebook.

 

“People count on Facebook to stay connected to their friends and family,” company officials say. “With Facebook Connect, they can take their friends with them wherever they take their iPhone. Developers can add rich social experiences to their apps, from playing games with friends, to seeing their movie recommendations, chatting during live sports games, and many more.”