Facebook turns on the Lite

Facebook is slimming down with the launch of a new Lite version.

The new version of the site appears to be much cleaner and simpler. It appears, at a quick glance, to be a better site for Facebook newbies or for anyone who finds the current site overwhelming or noisy. It also pushes the old-school Facebook apps off a cliff, which is just as well for the newest Facebook-connected services. Try it at lite.facebook.com.

The major visual change in Facebook Lite, compared to Facebook Classic, is simply that most of the navigation and info page that was on the left of the page is now gone. The user is not distracted by the mostly superfluous details that resided there. The input box is also gone, replaced by buttons (Write, Post Photos, Post Video) that pop down the actual input forms only when needed.

The new layout feels simpler and faster.

Other tweaks that diehards might notice: the Friends tab in the top navigation of Facebook Classic is missing in Facebook Lite, replaced by a new Events link that opens up a page of invitations.

All pages on the site seem to be affected. They are simpler, easier to read and faster. They load faster, partly due to what appears to be HTML optimisation at Facebook. My profile page in Facebook Lite weighed in at 11K, compared to 44K in the Classic version. However, the smaller pages may also come courtesy of a dramatically decreased advertising load, which is unlikely to continue, once Facebook Lite enters the mainstream.

Original article: Facebook Lite is here. Verdict: Better from CNET News.com