LinkedIn, the popular business and professional networking social network, has officially launched its new iPad app – and it’s surprisingly robust. The app is available for download in Apple’s App Store, and an announcement has been posted to the LinkedIn blog by Manish Sharma, LinkedIn’s Senior Product Manager for mobile and tablet. The blog was unavailable for some time this morning due to an attack by Syrian Hackers, but the issue has been resolved and the announcement is back up.

The app has been specifically designed for the iPad to take advantage of multi-touch and the new iPad’s Retina display technology. It looks nothing like the LinkedIn website or the iPhone and Android apps, but it is clear that the long wait for an iPad version has been worth it. The interface shows the care that the LinkedIn design team took to make the app stand out on iPad. Users can view profiles and messages just as in other versions of the app, but where the iPad app really differentiates itself is in the “updates” section.

The “updates” page in the app makes use of all of the extra space afforded by the iPad. The entire “updates” page is filled with all of the information needed to get caught up on the day’s planning and news. In fact, LinkedIn is promoting it as an app to use while eating breakfast or wrapping up the work day.

“This was a chance to go back to the drawing board,” said Mario Sundar, social media manager for LinkedIn. “To design it for how people use the iPad: morning and night infotainment.”

Sharma wrote that LinkedIn wants users of the iPad app to feel as if they have their own personal assistant. Instead of the single stream provided by the iPhone app, the iPad app “update” section splits the information into multiple, easy to read sub-sections, including who has viewed your profile, who is being hired, and the links and info your co-workers are sharing. The page also features a large, visually appealing header section featuring business and networking articles curated by LinkedIn. Take a look at the simplistic, yet information-packed new layout:

LinkedIn was also able to fit the calendar onto the “updates” page, where is shows appointments and reminders along the left side of the screen. Even better both the iPad and iPhone apps now take information from your Google or Exchange Calendar and display contact information for people listed in meetings or appointments. That’s a godsend for people who, like me, are terrible with names.

If you don’t have your iPad handy you can still preview the interface using the Safari browser. It’s not the same as swiping around with your fingers, but it shows off the app interface well.

LinkedIn has been focusing on its mobile presence over the past year, and it shows. Mobile pageviews of LinkedIn are growing rapidly, making mobile the fastest-growing service the company offers. The company has even released a feature phone app in addition to its smartphone and tablet offerings.

With its successful IPO last year and its push for a large mobile presence, LinkedIn looks to be the undisputed leader of online professional networking. What do you think? Have you tried the LinkedIn iPad app yet? Let us know in the comments below, and check out what others are saying about the app on Twitter: