So it wasn’t the Facebook Phone as some had speculated instead Facebook unveiled a number of updates for mobile and for its location service Facebook Places.

It also revealed that Facebook has reached a major milestone with 200 million people around the world now actively using Facebook via mobile, which is more than triple the number just one year ago – and that’s more using Facebook via mobile than Twitter combined.

Facebook also announced updates for Android and the iPhone. This is important as it continues to cement Android’s place as the emerging force in the smartphone market as it puts in strong quarter on quarter growth. Android was up +5.2 in the three months to February and +6.5 in the three months to September. An interesting aside — Facebook has no plans for Blackberry development.

The Facebook Android update comes on the same day that Twitter has also released an updated version of Twitter for Android. The update offers improved layout, increased speed and hi res photos among some of the changes.

US users are also, as some had trailed, getting special offers on Facebook Places. With iPhone 3.3 app those in the US will be able to find nearby deals from restaurants and retailers.

Anyway here are the the bullet highlights from last night’s announcement.

Updates for Android

• The new Android 1.4 update includes the launch of Places and Groups
• Android 1.4 also includes a refresh to the notifications application, one of the top requests from our users

Updates for iPhone

• iPhone 3.3 includes the launch of Groups

Deals for Places (US Only)

• With the iPhone 3.3 application, you can also find nearby deals from your favourite businesses–from restaurants to major retailers (US Only). We’ve partnered with a number of great brands to offer some great initial deals at launch. Find out more about these deals here.

Update for Places

• Ability to add photos when you check in
• Places has been updated to include a starred friends list, making it even faster and easier to tag friends with whom you frequently check-in–no more searching and scrolling

Single sign on

• Now when you’re logged into Facebook, it’s easier for you to log in into other applications on your mobile phone with single sign on. Just log in to the Facebook application on your mobile phone once.  From then on, you can log in to any other application on your phone that supports single sign on without typing a username or password again.
• Single sign ons unlocks the potential for developers to build really great social apps

There is more about this on the Facebook blog or you can watch last night’s event back on Facebook Live.