14 DAY TRIAL // Low-end smartphones are actually the base sustaining and driving the growth in the Android mobile ecosystem.
But if you have any experience with these kind of low-specced devices, you probably know that even what’s considered essential apps, like Facebook, tend to encounter difficulties in running and will more often than not shut down unexpectedly or lag frustratingly.
Facebook Lite released as test
But Facebook is looking to provide owners of low-end Android handsets with a seamless social network , too.
With intent in mind, the company has quietly launched the Facebook Lite app, which is a simple app that doesn't put a toll on the underperforming hardware of a low-end Android smartphone.
The app is basically a simplified version of Facebook’s mobile application that ran between 2009 and 2010.
TechCrunch reports that the app is not available everywhere and that Facebook has rolled it out in select emerging markets such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
The app is currently being tested, and if it proves to be successful, it will probably go live in other territories as well.
It is based on Snaptu, Facebook’s feature phone client, but it also brings some native Android feats to the table, including push notifications and camera integration.
Facebook Lite is efficient with data
Facebook Lite has not only been optimized to run on less than ideal hardware, but on 2G/ poor quality internet connections as well.
So if you own a low-end Android handset and you live in one of the countries listed above, you can go ahead and download the app from the Google Play store. Facebook Lite seems to be getting a lot of attention as the app has been downloaded more than 10,000 times and has been already been reviewed 697 times.
However, users are requesting Facebook to add a few other features, like the ability to use stickers in comments, something that will be eventually added to the rooster.
Got "Facebook Lite" on my phone!!! — feeling excited
— Apeksha Ranasinghe (@APRanasinghe) January 24, 2015
