04:43
Faizan
There are a few key differences between the Facebook mobile site and Facebook's smartphone applications. The Facebook app is natively supported on nine different smartphone devices, including Android and iPhone. The most common differences between the mobile and smartphone versions include icons, bookmarks, a search feature and access to the desktop site.
Icons
When you first launch the native Facebook app for your smartphone device, you are greeted with icons. The icons are quick access points, when tapped or selected, each icon takes you to a different area of the Facebook site. For example, tapping "Places" lets you check-in at a location from your phone and broadcast it to your friends' news feed. The mobile site version does not display icons, but loads your news feed in the browser instead.
Search
Both the mobile site and smartphone application have a search feature. But the search feature is more prominent in the latter. In fact, the search box is located at the top of the screen on the smartphone app. To get to the search feature on the mobile site, you have to tap the "Magnifying Glass" icon, then wait for the search box to load and start typing. The smartphone app lets you begin typing a search query almost immediately.
Desktop Site
The Facebook app on smartphone devices lacks a key feature: the ability to toggle between mobile and desktop site versions. If you need to pull up the desktop site for any reason, you would have to exit the smartphone app and load the browser to access it. The desktop site version is important, because not all features are supported on the mobile site or smartphone app.
Bookmarks
The mobile site lacks the ability to bookmark profiles, pages and events. The smartphone app does have this feature. Once you favorite a profile or page, a bookmark with an icon is created on the Facebook app's home screen. Bookmarking a profile is convenient if you frequently visit that page. You can add as many bookmarks as you wish.
Icons
When you first launch the native Facebook app for your smartphone device, you are greeted with icons. The icons are quick access points, when tapped or selected, each icon takes you to a different area of the Facebook site. For example, tapping "Places" lets you check-in at a location from your phone and broadcast it to your friends' news feed. The mobile site version does not display icons, but loads your news feed in the browser instead.Search
Both the mobile site and smartphone application have a search feature. But the search feature is more prominent in the latter. In fact, the search box is located at the top of the screen on the smartphone app. To get to the search feature on the mobile site, you have to tap the "Magnifying Glass" icon, then wait for the search box to load and start typing. The smartphone app lets you begin typing a search query almost immediately.
Desktop Site
The Facebook app on smartphone devices lacks a key feature: the ability to toggle between mobile and desktop site versions. If you need to pull up the desktop site for any reason, you would have to exit the smartphone app and load the browser to access it. The desktop site version is important, because not all features are supported on the mobile site or smartphone app.
Bookmarks
The mobile site lacks the ability to bookmark profiles, pages and events. The smartphone app does have this feature. Once you favorite a profile or page, a bookmark with an icon is created on the Facebook app's home screen. Bookmarking a profile is convenient if you frequently visit that page. You can add as many bookmarks as you wish.
Posted in: facebook
