Business-centric social network LinkedIn has finally launched an iPad app, with new features that are not available on LinkedIn.com on the Web. According to the company, it built the iPad app "from the ground up," in order to address the needs of increasingly more business professionals using iPads.

The LinkedIn iPad app has also been optimized for the new iPad's "resolutionary" Retina display. The app is broken down into three main sections: "All Updates," "You," and "Inbox," while a new calendar feature allows users to see the LinkedIn profile information of people they are about to meet.

"Imagine having one place where you can get all the info you need about who you're meeting with that day, trending and timely news that is impacting your industry, who's changed jobs and what your coworkers are sharing, liking and commenting on," wrote Manish Sharma, LinkedIn's senior product manager for mobile and tablet, in a blog post. "We've pulled all this for you, all in one place."

All Updates

The first section of the app, "All Updates", is basically your LinkedIn news feed. As you flip through the Flipboard-like virtual publication, you can see which of your contacts recently changed jobs, the new connections they've made, as well as their status updates and the links they shared. If you want to receive news and updates only from a specific subset of your professional network, you can filter the entire "Updates" results by your groups.

You

The second section, "You," is your own profile. It looks very crisp and professional, however there is one huge drawback: you can see your resume, but there is no way to edit it on the tablet. In this section you can see your own profile, sort through connections, set status updates, and see who has recently viewed your profile. The "You" section also suggests other LinkedIn users you might want to connect with.

Inbox

The third main section, "Inbox," is a two-pane interface in landscape mode. Here you can access your invitations and messages, and reply, forward or trash messages with dedicated buttons. There is no option, however, to save draft messages. Invitations and messages will appear in separate boxes on the left, while the content/details of those invitations/messages will be displayed in a large pane on the right.

Other App Details

In addition to the read-only mode for your profile, there is another drawback: the app does not remember your login details. If you remain logged in, you can resume your app activity without having to re-enter your username and password. If you sign out, however, your login details are gone and you have to enter the full credentials again to regain access. It's not a huge inconvenience, but it would have been nice if the app remembered at least the email address.

The new LinkedIn app for the iPad is available for free in Apple's App Store, and the company has also released a new mobile Web site for the Safari browser on the iPad. Currently, LinkedIn has more than 150 million members in more than 200 countries. According to the company, each second there are 41 LinkedIn profiles viewed from a mobile device and 19 LinkedIn people searches are conducted.

(reported by Alexandra Burlacu, edited by Dave Clark)