A few noteworthy iPad app omissions strike me as very surprising. Obviously, any of these missing apps could appear in a heartbeat, either when the developer makes a pricing decision, or Apple approves the app. But for now, their iPad-ready silence is deafening:
Where’s Facebook? I’d wager it’s one of the top 20 most popular iPhone apps in the App Store. There’s no iPad-friendly version in site.
Loren Brichter’s Tweetie 2 for iPhone is the greatest Twitter client ever made. And while he told the LA Times that a version is “in the works,” I’m stunned that the app isn’t there on launch day. Twitterrific for iPad looks impressive, though with my iPad still on the truck I haven’t tried it yet. Could Ollie capture extra market share with Tweetie’s launch delay?
I’m similarly surprised by the number of board games EA doesn’t have ready: Monopoly, Life, Trivial Pursuit, Sudoku — they all remain as iPhone apps that can scale up on the iPad, but without custom iPad versions.
Doodle Jump is an App Store leaderboard mainstay. I think it’s a tougher game to adapt to the iPad, since the iPhone version’s necessary tilting is so minimal, which likely works better on the smaller device. But with Doodle Jump’s mindshare and reputation, I’m amazed it’s not out for the iPad already.
Finally, there’s that batch of Apple’s own apps that the company decided not to release for the iPad (yet?). No built-in weather, stock, calculator, clock, compass, or voice memo app? I get that some of those (calculator) could be challenging to bring to the bigger screen sanely, but still. These are solid apps that deserve iPadification. I find their absence very unusual. Unless Apple’s hoping to start updating them more frequently, without OS updates, and instead plans to release them in the App Store. But if that’s the goal — where are they?
Oh, and to the developers of Doodle Jump and Tweetie et al — do read my note from yesterday about iPad app upgrade pricing.