With the release of iTunes 10.1, Ping has come to the iPad… if you’re running iOS 4.2. (And if you consider Ping to be a feature! — we kid!) If you have both and you still don’t see Ping, make sure you sign into the service on iTunes on your Windows or Mac, then sync iPad (that’s what I had to do.)

Used Ping on iPhone or iPod touch? If so, no surprises here. It’s just bigger. Much bigger. There are the same three tabs: activities, people, and profiles. You can comment on what’s been posted (even by you), but otherwise it’s… for good or ill it’s Ping. And if you’ve enabled the new Twitter integration, it’ll auto-tweet every song you like.

If you’ve tried it out, let us know what you think. For more, check out our complete iOS 4.2 for iPad walkthrough.

iOS 4.2 features: Ping for iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Every week a few of us from team TiPb will bring you our current favorite, funnest, most useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they're iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch related, they're fair game.

To see what we picked this week, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

Alli’s Pick: TV Forecast

Easily one of my most used apps, TV Forecast has a place of honor on my home screen. A very simple app, you add your favorite shows, and it lets you know when they’re coming on.

In addition to telling you the day and time, TV Forecast gives you a synopsis of the episode and even information on past episodes. I especially like it since I never know when shows will come back from hiatus. With TV Forecast, I never miss anything!

[$1.99 - iTunes link]

Brian’s pick: Stardunk

Stardunk is an incredible basketball type game that allows you to play by yourself or online globally against other players using Game Center. The goal of the game is to score as many points by getting the ball through the hoop as many times as you can within the designated amount of time. You can also get multipliers for perfect shots and also gain add-ons like 3 balls at once by hitting the 4 blocks behind the rim. The graphics are stunning and the gameplay is virtually flawless. It is an intensley addictive game and for being a free app it is well worth the download.

Check out our review for Stardunk.

[Free - iTunes link]

Chris's pick: Sky Mobile TV

Sky Mobile TV is easily my most used iOS application. It is a UK only app; it is linked to Sky Satellite TV services available in the UK. If you are a subscriber to Sky Sports channels, this app will enable you watch them over WiFi or 3G on your iOS device. The quality of the stream is simply stunning and even on a limited 1-MB ADSL connection it is flawless. The app is a universal binary so runs great on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

In my home, it is difficult to get near the TV Remote control due to my wife and two children hogging it all the time, now I can sit down in the evening, catch up on the latest sports news or watch a live Premiership football (soccer) game all from the comfort of my iPad.

A word of warning, Sky Mobile TV is not compatible with iOS 4.2. Sky is working on an update; but it may not be done in time.

[Free - iTunes link]

Farbod’s pick: PdaNet (jailbreak)

Much like the popular MyWi, PdaNet allows for tethering your iPhone’s 3G signal to another device via either the creation of a wifi hotspot or through a USB connection.

PdaNet requires that your iPhone be jailbroken and it comes with a 14 day free trial. Afterward, there is a $15.99 option to continue using the app without secure sites being blocked.

I very much prefer PdaNet to MyWi as the transitions from on and off are much smoother and PdaNet has a much smaller footprint than MyWi. You can get it on Cydia, give it a try!

Georgia’s pick: Connectuss

This puzzle game is your old connect the dots game taken to a new level. Very simple and easy, plus lots of fun!

[Free - iTunes link]

Leanna’s pick: Plants vs Zombies HD

Of all the different platforms I have played Plants vs Zombies, the iPad is by far my favorite. PopCap games got me addicted all over again (I even played while my students took an exam). Being able to touch the large screen in multiple places is what makes the experience that much greater.

If you’re unfamiliar with the game, the objective is to place plants with special powers that will fight off the zombies that are trying to get into your house. If the zombies get in, they’ll eat your brains! There’s nothing like a good ol’ zombie killing.

[$9.99 - iTunes link]

Rene’s pick: Simplenote

On the surface Simplenote is just what its name implies: a simple, universal iPhone/iPad note-taking app. Scratch that surface, however, and what do you find? More surface. Kidding. You find some very interesting sync possibilities, not just for you, but for family teams as well.

We waited a long time to get notes sync on iOS and frankly it never fails to disappoint. Simplenote lets you set up an account and it automagically mirrors the content of the app not just on your iOS devices but with the cross-platform desktop Notational Velocity as well. This is great if you want to quickly type something on your iPhone, update it on your iPad and later view and edit it on your Mac, Linux, or Windows box. But that’s just the beginning. Let’s say you put both your and your spouse’s iPhone on the same Simplenote account. You write down a shopping list and go shopping. She grabs the cereal, deletes it from the list. Boom. It’s gone from the list on your iPhone as well. You child at home finishes the milk. They run over to the iPad, add milk to the list. Double boom. It’s on both your and your spouse’s iPhone and the race to the dairy isle is on! Change spouse to business partner and you can easily use Simplenote to share ideas back and forth on whatever project you’re currently working on.

It’s not a task manager. It’s not a reminder. It doesn’t have deep organization or triggers or alarms or location popups. It’s simple as the name implies. And sometimes that’s just what you need.

[Free - iTunes link]

Your pick?

You're part of the team as well, so jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

TiPb Picks of the Week is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Want to be a special guest on our iPhone Live! or iPad Live! podcast? Here’s the thing, Rene and Chad are fine and all but I need some new blood, some fresh opinions. Could that be you?

If you think you’re the one, if you think you could handle being on a live internet show, then make us a quick video titled “TiPb Podcast Contest Entry”, upload it to YouTube, and paste the link in the comments below.

Keep the video short — 1 minute is plenty — but show us what you’ve got. Show us why you should be on iPhone Live! or iPad Live! Give us a rant. Give us some insight. Give us something compelling about whatever TiPb-appropriate subject you like best.

Make it creative. Make it fun. Most importantly, make it entertaining. Hell, use a muppet if you want!!

We’ll pick our favorite and you’ll get a guest spot on our show and all the fame and bright lights that go with it.

So why are you still reading this, get moving!!!!!!

[Thanks to @iTroldahl for the idea!]

So you think you can podcast? Win a guest spot on our show! [contest] is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

The iPad is the ultimate internet device, its a great gaming platform, but how is it in a protest?

In Lithuania, there have been protests against the country’s emigration policy. People carry signs, people chant, however one man, decided that he would update old ‘protest’ conventions with new technology.

He held up his iPad…..on a stick. The iPad was playing a slideshow of ‘protest’ captions, though due to the weather, it was seen in a see-thru plastic bag to protect it from the rain.

Despite the serious nature of the protest, this was a definite laugh for those watching nearby.

See the ProtestPad in action in the video below.

Engadget

iPad + stick = protest 2.0? [video] is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Just in time for the holiday season, Apple is now selling iBooks gift cards. They have been spotted at Apple stores, Target stores, and Best Buy stores. These will pair very nicely with iPad gifts.

There was some confusion as to whether iTunes gift cards could be used to buy iBooks since iBooks are not purchasable on a desktop – they must be bought in the iBooks store on an iPad or iPhone. The answer is yes, you can, but this makes it easy for those who are not sure and want to gift a book.

Anyone planning to pick up some iBooks gift cards for your iPad-weilding family and friends? Whose hoping to receive one as a gift?

[iLounge via TUAW]

Apple now selling iBooks gift cards is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Want to run Android on your iPhone 4 or iPad? Well hot on the heels of the release of OpeniBoot based Bootlace which enables you to run Android on an iPhone 2G, 3G and first generation iPod touch, comes this little gem of information. OpeniBoot will soon be available for the iPhone 4 and more appealing, the iPad. OpeniBoot is an open source implementation of iBoot bootloader for Apple iOS based devices. It allows booting of unsigned code such as Linux kernels on the device.

The video above shows the early stages of the hack running on an iPad and demonstrates that it should be possible. No word on when this may become available, but it looks like it is not going to be too far off. As with all of these hacks, you will need to jailbreak your device.

Take a look at the video after the break and let us know, would you like to do this? Would it not be a backward step from the safe and stable iOS? Let us know in the comments.

[Redmond Pie]

OpeniBoot set to unleash Android on your iPad and iPhone 4 [video] is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

NAVIGON let us know that they’re celebrating their 2010 TiPb Readers Choice Award by putting NAVIGON MobileNavigator on sale this weekend.

The community of the number one iPhone blog in the US, TiPb.com, awarded NAVIGON MobileNavigator iPhone the best navigation app in 2010. With this special price and for a limited time only we’d like to thank everybody for voting for us. We are thrilled about this!

Very cool.

[$49.99 - iTunes link]

NAVIGON Mobile Navigator North America on weekend sale! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog