Apple has quietly launched Ping, its social network designed to drive sales of digital music, for the iPad, now available within the iTunes app.
The addition became available this weekend without the need for a system update, with Apple adding the Ping tab on the native iTunes app for iPad. Previously, Ping was available in iTunes 10, as well as the iTunes application on the iPhone.
Ping was launched in September, giving users the ability to discover and share music with friends. Users can also "follow" their favorite artists, to see what they recommend or have recently purchased on iTunes.
With Ping for iPad, users can check their friends' activity, see who they're following, or make changes to their profile. The iPad integration also allows users to "like" or comment on posts from people they follow, and quickly purchase recommended music from the iTunes Store.
Apple has steadily expanded Ping since its debut. This week, Twitter and Apple announced Ping integration on the social networking website. Users can now put Ping activity, song previews and links to purchase and download music from the iTunes Store through Twitter.com.
Apple has also reportedly been in talks with Facebook to offer integration with that service as well. Apple had hoped to have Ping and Facebook connectivity when the service launched, but talks between the two companies fell apart.