Those of you waiting for the big Spotify press event today (12 noon EST) in hope that an iPad app will (finally!) be announced, I have something for you in the meantime. It turns out that a Swedish developer already released a free Spotify iPad app — two weeks ago. It’s called Spotable, and while it’s simple, it’s pretty slick.
Spotable has the same Twitter-for-iPad-like slideover-pane interface that the official app is expected to have, with playlists at left and further panes coming in over the top as you search and browse. Swiping these panes gets you back to where you started.
While there is no support for Spotify Apps (something I’m hoping for but not expecting in the official app, going by the screenshots), you can search and access your inbox, starred tracks and playlists. Searching will show relevant albums and artists, with the tracks listed below. From here you can browse deeper into the album, view other stuff by the artist, star tracks or just play them.
Speaking of playing, AirPlay is supported, as is lock-screen artwork and control, as well as saving tracks for offline playback.
It’s certainly a bare-bones implementation, but right now it is still a lot better than the official Spotify iPad app, which doesn’t exist, and hasn’t existed since the iPad debuted over two years ago.
So there you have it, a native Spotify App for the iPad. At last. The app is available in the App Store now, and you’ll need a paid account to use it.