Facebook improves efficiency of Android app to support low-end devices

A recent visit to Africa by some Facebook engineers prompted them to tweak their Android app. Why you ask? Well, they experienced what it’s like to use Facebook on low-end phones with slow internet connection. They saw how low-end devices crashed trying to load the app and how they managed to consume a month’s worth of data with 40 minutes of trying to use Facebook.

What Facebook did with its Android app was to make it so that it didn’t load everything at once when you opened it. The News Feed entries are loaded much earlier and Facebook images are being transmitted using Google’s WebP format. This means the app loads images in resolutions and sizes based on the device’s screen size. It will only load the full-size photo if you select the photo. The app size has also been reduced by 65 percent to accommodate devices with limited storage and small RAM.

Source: Facebook Code

Facebook updates Messenger for Windows Phone

Facebook is playing catch up with its Messenger app for Windows Phone and has brought some nifty features already available on Android and iOS. Some of the new capabilities include the ability to share photos directly after shooting and the Groups tab. This tab lets users create, manage, and talk to multiple people at the same time. You can also pin groups to the Start screen for easier access to them. You can download Facebook Messenger here.

Source: The Next Web

Facebook opens mobile development program to all developers

Facebook just announced that its FbStart program is now open to all mobile developers and not just to f8 attendees. The program aims to help developers by giving access to free tools and services worth up to US$30,000. Mobile developers with apps that have been live for at least a month can apply to be part of FbStart. They also do not need to be integrated with Facebook to participate. Those chosen will get credits for Facebook and Parse and free tools and credits from partners such as Adobe, Desk.com, HootSuite, MailChimp, SurveyMonkey, etc.

Those who apply can choose between two tracks: Bootstrap and Accelerate. Bootstrap is for developers starting out and Accelerate is for those trying to grow and scale an app that already has initial traction. Facebook said they also plan to offer programs, events, and best practices for the participants and their will continually engage with the developers. For more information about the program, you can read about it here.

Live from Facebook's f8 keynote stream in Toronto

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

We're on hand at the MaRS Discovery District in downtown Toronto where Facebook has brought together developers to partake of its f8 developer conference. This is the first major Facebook event or announcement that we've attended here in Canada even if it is a stream of the actual event taking place in San Francisco which has 2,000 developers in attendance.

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