Is Facebook’s iPad app stuck in pre-release mode or are the finishing touches being applied even as we speak? There are two reports Monday concerning the social network’s much-anticipated iPad application that paint two different pictures of the situation.
The lead developer on Facebook’s iPad app who quit to work for Google, wrote a blog post Monday saying his departure was fueled by frustration over the oft-delayed release of the application. Then Monday afternoon Mashable reported from its own sources that Facebook’s iPad app will launch next week. They say it will be at Apple’s not-yet-confirmed Oct. 4 press event, which is reportedly slated to take place on Apple’s own campus.
The former Facebook engineer, Jeff Verkoeyen, said one reasons he left was that the Facebook iPad app had been basically finished since May, but that Facebook had yet to release it. Mashable doesn’t identify its source, but said the reason for the many delays was “a combination of timing and a strained relationship with Apple.”
That problematic relationship with Apple is not new–former Apple CEO Steve Jobs made the disagreements public back when he introduced iTunes Ping. While it would be rather unexpected to see Facebook up on Apple’s own stage, it’s pretty clear that there’s an audience of Apple users that will happily download a Facebook iPad app. So it makes sense that the two sides eventually get together in some fashion.
Mashable reports that it’s not just the iPad app that Facebook will introduce next week, but “a revamped version of its iPhone app” and an “HTML5-based mobile app marketplace.” Whether that will be at Apple’s event or not is unclear.
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