Twitter is launching a data saving version of its mobile site called Twitter Lite. The site is intended for markets with slow connectivity which means this announcement is meant for emerging markets where internet penetration is either low or connection speeds are low. Now notice that it’s not called an app par se because of its functionalities. Twitter Lite is optimised for speed, with up to 30 percent faster launch times as well as quicker navigation throughout Twitter and the main reason for launching such a service according to Twitter is because “while smartphone adoption grew to 3.8 billion connections by the end of 2016, 45% of mobile connections are still on slower 2G networks.”
Twitter Lite also has some addition features when you run it on Google Chrome for Android. You will get push notifications and if you do decide to add it to your home screen, you will be able to access Twitter Lite using a shortcut.
Twitter Lite is not the first of its kind in the social media category. Back in 2015, Facebook launched Lite with the intention to provide a good experience for users on 2G networks. In 2016, Facebook launched a Lite version of its Messenger app. The under 10Mb app is quicker to install and startup unlike the main Messenger app but as you might expect, you won’t be getting the full experience. Google’s YouTube Go was launched last year in India to provide YouTube access to Indians with little data consumption and offline features.
Paul Balo is the founder of TechBooky and a highly skilled wireless communications professional with a strong background in cloud computing, offering extensive experience in designing, implementing, and managing wireless communication systems.
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