Friended — Facebook iPad app a good alternative to web version

I'm not sure what Mark Zuckerberg's problem is, but as the year anniversary of the iPad nears, there's still no official Facebook app for iPad users. Several makeshift versions exist in the App Store, and for my dollar I found Friended — Facebook for iPad to be more than adequate for my casual Facebooking needs.

Users will have to first authorize Friended to access their account information. I always hate this process, but it's compulsory if you want to use Facebook through an app format on your iPad. Friended works equally well in portrait and landscape orientation, with its main frame dominated with your Facebook newsfeed. The app also includes frames with recently uploaded photos, recent friends with activity and Facebook's chat interface, which displays who's currently online. The newsfeed is clearly the section you'll be using the most, and it's large text makes for easy skimming while scrolling. Users can mark status messages with like or leave a comment. Chatting with friends through the app felt the same as using Facebook's web version, although you might not be able to see all of your normal contacts — personal privacy settings might not allow visibility to friends using apps.

Friended offers almost all of Facebook's normal functionality. You can easily create status messages that include photos or links, as well as view friends' profiles and leave comments on their respective walls. The use of Facebook's inbox is limited — you can reply to existing messages, but not create new ones. Friended's interface for friends might take some getting used to as your contacts are only displayed by their photos — no names — and in random order. While this isn't ideal, especially for users with thousands of friends, Friended's ad-free interface makes up for it. Friended also currently lacks push notifications, but displays the standard Facebook notifications.

If you're looking for a solution for multiple Facebook accounts, though, Friended is not the app for you. After authorizing the app on one account, I tried setting up the app for another. I found myself trapped in a log-in cycle, which bricked the app entirely, and forced me to delete and reinstall the app.

Until Facebook launches an official iPad app, Friended is a good alternative.