Facebook’s ‘Project Spartan’ leaked (again), next week release expected

By Andrew Couts September 29, 2011

facebook-project-spartan — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Facebook’s unannounced HTML 5-based web app for iOS and Android, commonly referred to as “Project Spartan,” has leaked once again. TechCrunch‘s Alexia Tsotsis managed to snag screenshots of Project Spartan from a Facebook developer’s page. The page has since been taken down.

We first heard about Project Spartan (a name which is reportedly not used by Facebook internally) back in June. From what we can tell so far, Project Spartan serves as an Facebook app portal. Unlike Facebook’s standard mobile app, Project Spartan makes it easier for users to access apps and find new apps. Or, rather, it serves as a marketing tool for Facebook to lure developers to their platform by giving Facebook users greater ability to use and find apps within the Facebook system.

Tsotsis says they have received confirmation from “multiple sources” that the page she found was, in fact, about so-called Project Spartan. Plus, Facebook is expected to announce the new product earlier this week.

We previously reported that Facebook is expected to announced its long-awaited iPad app next week, as well. According to Mashable‘s Ben Parr, Facebook will make the big announcement during Apple’s iPhone 5 event, which will take place on Tuesday, October 4. That’s possible. But there are some other rumblings in the rumorsphere that Facebook will hold its own event on Monday, and won’t make an appearance during Apple’s show.

Facebook and Apple reportedly have a tenuous relationship. When Apple unveiled its upcoming iOS 5 mobile operating system back in June, Facebook competitor Twitter took center stage as a fully-integrated feature in iOS 5. Facebook remained conspicuously absent.

Whether the two companies come together at the same event or not, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: Facebook appears to have another big announcement planned next week. So check back here for the latest.

See a PDF version of the entire Project Spartan developer’s page below:
Face Book PDF

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