LinkedIn Fans Rejoice: Your iPad App Has Arrived The popular business networking site has created an app for Apple's tablet.
By Jason Fell
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Online networking site LinkedIn has some big, if not overdue news for iPad-toting business professionals: It now has an iPad app. Until now, LinkedIn only offered mobile apps for the iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Palm Pre.
Other popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter already have apps for iPad users.
LinkedIn says an increasing slice of the site's overall traffic -- nearly a quarter -- comes from users on mobile devices. Among the devices being used, the iPad is the fastest-growing with traffic increasing 250 percent so far this year over 2011.
Here's what you get with the iPad app:
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- The most prominent feature of the start page is a large image in the upper right corner with four LinkedIn Today news stories.
- Below that you can see a list of who has viewed your profile and who among your contacts has recently changed jobs.
- In the upper left corner you'll find a stock ticker, a weather report and a useful calendar tool that can sync with your existing work calendar, linking to the LinkedIn profiles of the people you're meeting with.
"Smart professionals are doing more research on people for meetings, partnerships and other business needs, and we want this app to be a valuable tool for them," says LinkedIn mobile product head Joff Redfern. "If you understand a person you're going to meet with, and their perspective on business, you'll have an edge."
- Click on the LinkedIn logo at the top left of the start page to navigate to the app's main page. There you can access updates, your profile and your inbox -- where you can send and receive messages and connect with new contacts. Search and settings tabs are at the top of the page.
Related: LinkedIn Offers More Insight into its Networking Groups
For now, all features on the iPad app will be free. While LinkedIn doesn't have immediate plans to create an app for other tablet devices, its iPhone and Android mobile apps will soon be upgraded to include many similar features as the iPad app, Redfern says.
Do you primarily access LinkedIn from a mobile device? Will you download its new iPad app? Let us know in the comment section below.
