Facebook Zero to launch

With almost as many people checking their Facebook profiles via their phones as well as their computer (the social network recently said that more than 100 million people now access Facebook from their phone), it is no surprise that Facebook has unveiled a stripped-down, text-only version of its mobile site so everyone can get to the site, not just those with 3G phones.

The new site, called Facebook Zero, is aimed at people viewing Facebook on their mobile and will launch "in the coming weeks". It is also believed to be a response to operators who have complained about bandwidth being used up on their networks by people constantly checking the social site.

A recent survey from GSM Association recently revealed that Facebook accounts for nearly half of all the time people in the UK spend going online using their phones - during December that was a total of 2.2 billion minutes.

Stripped down

In order to reduce the amount of bandwidth dedicated to Facebook, the site "omits data intensive applications like photos".

A spokesman for the company was quoted as saying, "We are discussing it... as an option to make Facebook on the mobile web available to everyone, anywhere and allow operators to encourage more mobile internet usage."

The mobile site is very much like Facebook Lite, the website designed for people with slow or poor internet connections, such as those in the developing world.

Either way, it is clear the new site will no doubt increase the amount of people using their phones to  access their accounts, which could see Facebook reap even larger financial benefits.

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