'Delayed' Facebook iPad app claims lead coder casualty

'Feature complete', still no release, so developer takes job at Google

The release of a Facebook iPad app remains in stasis despite the fact that it has been worked on for the best part of a year. Now a lead developer at the social network has quit the firm and vented his frustrations about the delay.

Jeff Verkoeyen initially wrote on his blog, as spotted by TechCrunch, that he had ditched his job at Facebook for a new role at Google after the iPad app had been shelved – due to what has been described as "tense negotiations" between Apple and Mark Zuckerberg's firm.

Facebook, it has been reported, has been pushing for deeper integration into Apple's upcoming operating system, iOS 5.

Verkoeyen said it had been "five months since the app was feature-complete".

He added: “Needless to say this was a frustrating experience for me. The experience of working on this app was a large contribution to the reasons why I left Facebook.”

Unsurprisingly, the two tech giants have remained quiet about Verkoeyen's comments, who has since tweaked his blog post to remove any mention of the iPad app.

"If you’re coming here from any of the press earlier today, I want to emphasise that my experience with Facebook over the past few years has been incredible and that I was simply recounting my experiences over the past few months related to my work at Facebook," he said in an updated message.

All of which appeared to suggest he may have upset Facebook and/or Apple with his original juicy spill. ®