Facebook has launched Facebook Lite, a simplified version of its mobile website as a standalone Android app, reports Techcrunch. The networking platform had earlier rolled out its ‘Facebook Lite’ website in 2009, specifically designed for low bandwidth usage in emerging markets. The app is currently available only in Bangladesh, Nepal, South Africa, Nigeria, Sudan, Vietnam, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. Consequently, we had to sideload the apk to test on our devices and users wanting to try it out can find it here. The app is a lightweight install at just 252KB in size and works on Android versions 2.2 and above. In contrast Facebook’s primary app, which doesn’t allow users to chat, is over 25MB in size and its companion messenger app is over 16MB in size. The ‘Lite’ app itself features standard smartphone features like push notifications, camera integration and chats, although the app is based on Facebook’s feature phone client Snaptu. The interface is pretty basic, but allows for all standard Facebook functions and felt similar to its mobile website, although the mobile website functioned far smoother on the OnePlus One we tested on. Interestingly, while the web version (mobile and desktop) and the standard Facebook app displayed updates from publications and celebrities followed, pages ‘liked’ etc., along with those of friends, the Lite app seemed to display a lot more updates made by friends and fewer of other updates. This could be a sync problem, but could also be a measure to save on bandwidth, as other…
