To many of us, it defied logic that Facebook didn’t have an official iPad application of its own. It looks like the world is about to make more sense.
According to a report from TechCrunch scribe MG Siegler, what is believed to be Facebook’s upcoming iPad app can be found within the code of the company’s iPhone app. Siegler is somewhat smitten with Facebook’s new toy.
“The Facebook iPad app uses a left-side menu system that can be accessed by the touch of a button or the flick of the iPad screen. The app also makes great use of the pop-overs (overlay menus) found in other iPad apps. When you flip the iPad horizontally, the list of your online friends appears and you can chat with them as you do other things on Facebook. The photo-viewer aspect looks great — similar to the iPad’s own native Photos app. Places exists with a nice big map to show you all your friends around you.”
Users who can’t wait to download the app when it officially becomes available can (at their own risk), change the settings of their iPad for an early look. Instructions are provided by Twitter user AeroEchelon, a Toronto-based computer engineer who seemed to be the first person to identify the leaked app.
Long in the works
An official Facebook iPad is, as one insurance commercial says, “the biggest no-brainer in the history of earth.” What took the company so long is another story.
New York Times tech correspondent Nick Bilton reported last month that the company was nearly complete with it’s app and that founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg “was heavily invested in the project.”
It was anticipated that Facebook would be announcing the app last month during it’s “something awesome” press conference. Alas, the July 7 announcement revealed Facebook’s partnership with Skype, and its new video chat services.
Might the successful launch of Google+ be triggering Facebook’s decision to finally reveal it’s new tablet toy? Stay tuned.
