Mario Sundar's Speakeasy

I’m happy to share that your go-to iPad app at work from today will be a Linkedin production. I’ve been at LinkedIn for over 5 years now and in those years I’ve shared the launch of 100s of our products to to the outside world, but today’s iPad app will count as one of my personal favorites.

In the social media world I live in, it’s the rare app that exudes an Apple like aesthetic and functionality that draws my attention. So, I’m really glad to see our mobile team (Joff Redfern, Manish Sharma and others) churn out a product that not only looks pretty (think Retina display friendly) but will also add value to your daily iPad usage.

Here’s 3 reasons why I dig our just launched iPad app:

1. Calendar that makes meetings more social & productive 

The #1 feature in today’s app that I find myself using the most is a newly designed social calendar app. It changes the way you experience meetings. I think it’s better off described with a closer look (see the left hand widget in the picture below). On a side note, I love the attention to detail in surfacing exactly the info you need – a stock ticker of your company and the weather outside. Nice.

How many times have you been in a group meeting and wondered who some of the folks in the meeting are. I find the calendar feature, super-useful at getting to know exactly that. Click through the meeting on your calendar and bam! the app surfaces relevant LinkedIn profile information of the meeting attendees.

But, even better, when you’re at the meeting you get to click through their profiles to learn who your common connections are. Of course, it goes without saying that as you walk outside of the meeting you can connect with some of the folks you’re not connected to yet. I’ve been surprised at how often that happens. This is a great way to actually build your relationships while you work vs. trying to remember the person you met at a meeting a few weeks ago.

Unsurprisingly, we’ve chosen to also release this social Calendar app on our mobile platforms as well, so there’s an updated iPhone (iOS 5+ required) and Android app as well waiting for you. The calendar feature now truly augments your existing calendar on all your mobile devices with much needed social functionality. You guys know how excited I can be about smart calendaring.

2. LinkedIn News: When who shares what matters…

The key feature that makes LinkedIn Today, our news product, stand out is its ability to tap into your business relationships to surface the most relevant updates, quotes, etc. from your most relevant professional connections. Knowing who has actually shared this content – whether it’s a VP at a company you’re doing business with or your colleagues at someplace you’ve just started working or maybe folks you just connected with at an event – makes a huge difference.

I could go on but this professional relevance is what makes LinkedIn apps truly useful and the iPad app does a great job of surfacing this information seamlessly.

3. At a glance: Who’s moving where and what your colleagues are sharing?

My good friend Jeremiah runs a series on his blog called “On the Move“. It’s a great way to find out the movers and shakers in the social media space. Imagine if you could scale that feature to each and every professional to show them where their friends are headed career-wise. That and a LinkedIn Today version of what just your colleagues are sharing, wrap up the simple yet impressive updates section of this app.

The beauty of the iOS ecosystem (iPhone and iPad) is the freedom it gives developers to surface the most relevant information within the form factor allowed. That minimalism allows for a focus that actually draws out the best from various applications eliminating the noise that’s out there. And, it’s great to see our iPad app really excel at that. Over the past two weeks, the LinkedIn iPad app has become my must-take to meetings (along with iA Writer – more on that later).

So, take the app for a spin (it’s free) at work and trust me, your meetings and your workday will never be the same again.

You’re welcome.

Reactions from around the web (coverage and tweets):

I figured this may be a place to aggregate some of the reactions from the biggest tech voices on the planet, esp. folks we had a chance to talk to.

• The Next Web: “LinkedIn gets new Android and iOS apps, with a spectacular iPad version. The iPad app is an absolute standout.”
• Business Insider: “LinkedIn launches a killer new iPad app.”
• Venture Beat: “LinkedIn’s surprisingly sexy new iPad app shows this company gets mobile.” 
• Mashable: “It’s “updates” where the app shines, and turns into a kind of socially-enhanced Flipboard. You see stories your friends have shared, beautifully laid out, alongside such nuggets of news as which of your friends have changed their jobs recently.”
• The Verge: “We gave the app a go, and we’re fairly impressed.”
• TechCrunch: “One of the more compelling features included in the iPad app is the ability to sync the device’s calendar with your LinkedIn profile information.”

Filed under: Latest at LinkedIn, LinkedIn Features, ipad applications, mobile applications, mobile social media