Long-awaited tablet port finally makes it in the App Store

Oct 11, 2011 06:27 GMT  ·  By

After much debate and controversy, Facebook has finally unveiled the iPad-native version of their iOS application. It’s a free download in the iTunes App Store. Those of you who’ve been anxiously waiting for the app can download right now.

The company’s Leon Dubinsky makes it official via a blog entry, saying: “Many of you have been asking about Facebook for iPad. Today, it's finally here.”

“With the iPad app, you get the full Facebook experience, right at your fingertips. It's a fun way to keep up with friends, share photos, chat and more,” writes Dubinsky.

As expected, the social networking company run by Mark Zuckerberg did not spit out an altogether new application for the iPad’s 9.7-inch screen.

Instead, they merely updated the existing iOS app that was previously only optimized for iPhone and iPod touch use.

Facebook for iPad brings “high-res photos, games, chat and more [so] you can get the best of Facebook—on your iPad,” according to the makers.

The app leaves nothing to be desired, as it lets you chat on the iPad’s big display, browse and flip through photos, even play games and watch HD movies in full screen. It also supports AirPlay for Apple TV streaming.

The full feature-set dished out by the folks at Facebook Inc. can be found here.

Now, since Facebook only updated their existing iOS app to deliver native iPad support, they took this opportunity to also improve the experience for iPhone and iPod touch owners.

By downloading Facebook 4.0 on your smaller iDevice, you also get games and apps, better navigation, bookmarks, an application-wide search function, and even some security updates.

The updated Facebook app is available via this handy link below. Use the comments to tell us what you think of the iPad version.

Download Facebook for iOS (Free)