Google Not Supporting The iPad?Google Not Supporting The iPad?

Based on spending more than an hour trolling the iPad Apps Store, I can't find a single Google application or service that has been optimized for the iPad. How come? Google isn't the only one. Other major publishers haven't updated their apps, either.Google's presence on the iPhone was touted as one of its main strengths from the start. Google Maps, built-in Google Search and, eventually, dedicated Google Search, Earth and Panaramio applications appeared in the iTunes Apps Store.

Today, mere hours before the iPad is officially launched at Apple stores and delivered to those who pre-ordered it, iPad app announcements are flowing in at a furious pace. None of the Google mobile applications have been optimized for the iPad, though. I find that really curious.

Google Mobile's apps that were created for the iPhone will work on the iPad, but users will have to experience them in either a reduced window on the iPad's screen or with a jagged appearance when blown up to fill the iPad's screen. Google Earth, for example, could be an amazing iPad application. Think how it could work when powered by that 1GHz processor. Why hasn't Google optimized its applications for the iPad? Is there something going on between Google and Apple that we should know about? Was the lunch meeting beween Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Google CEO Eric Schmidt a publicity stunt? Were they trying to hammer out a basis to work together (coopetition) despite the differences between their company's?

Other applications that have yet to be optimized for the iPad include Facebook, CNN, and QuickOffice. Are iPad-optimized apps in the works, are they even planned, or do many developers simply believe that what they're offering the iPhone is good enough for the iPad? I sure hope it's not the latter. What's the point of using a device with a large screen if apps are going to look low-rez and cruddy on it?