Facebook iPad app: release delayed or imminent?

Is Facebooks 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 networks much-anticipated iPad application that paint two different pictures of the situation.

The lead developer on Facebooks 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 Facebooks iPad app will launch next week. They say it will be at Apples not-yet-confirmed Oct. 4 press event, which is reportedly slated to take place on Apples 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 doesnt 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 newformer 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 Apples own stage,its pretty clear that theres 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 its 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 Apples event or not is unclear.

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