Apple starts taking orders for the iPad at 5:30 a.m. Pacific/8:30 a.m. Eastern on Friday, March 12.

Tapped on App Store and what did I see? Updates for Tweetie, Loopt, Foursquare, and Flickr — and a couple of those say iPhone OS 3.2 (aka iPad) right there in the What’s New listing. (Yeah, that doesn’t mean 3.2 is coming to the iPhone or these are 1024×768 versions, likely just that they’re built using that SDK for maximum blackboxing on the iPad).

Tweetie [$2.99 - iTunes link] has just hit version 2.1.1 and brings iPhone OS 3.2 compatibility(!), Foursquare (4sq.com) integration, Vodpod video uploads, Post ‘message’ parameter to TwitPic, and Instapaper Mobilizer. See our previous Tweetie coverage for more on the app.

Loopt [Free - iTunes link] expands the product’s Pulse feature to include tens of thousands of local events, and allows check-in to events, public Tips, and the ability to RSVP to events posted on Facebook. It’s also got you covered for SXSW, and adds content from SonicLiving, Zvents and Metromix.

Foursquare [Free - iTunes link] brings a whole new look and feel (see below), faster, better checkin, and categories for Places view. Also, it has history for Places, and uses Tweetie-style pull-to-refresh.

Flickr [Free - iTunes link] iPhone OS 3.2 support (!)

Quick App Updates: Tweetie, Loopt, Foursquare, Flickr — Including iPhone 3.2 Compatibility(!) is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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SinSearch [Free - iTunes link] is a very bad iPhone app. Not bad as in badly done by any means — bad as in it helps you find things that are bad for your health, bad for your wallet, and/or bad for any chance at a career in public office should they be discovered. (Which means, of course, it should be wildly popular):

SinSearch uses your GEOlocation (GPS) to pinpoint bars, clubs, taxis, spirits, wine bars and many more locations nearest your current location. Scroll through a list of results and click to find locations organized by distance away from you. Address, phone number, map and directions are all provided within the app. Perfect for those of you looking to have a memorable night of fun in a new town or in your very own backyard! It will not only help you find fun but help you get out of trouble with searches for lawyers, churches, hospitals and more!

Nice little shot of redemption there at the end! If you give it a try, let us know what you think!

TiPb After Dark: SinSearch Brings Bad Things to Your iPhone is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

AirPhones is an application which lets you stream audio from your computer to your iPhone or iPod touch. Once you have it set up — which doesn't take long at all — it's as simple as opening the app on your iPhone and hearing your computer's audio through your phone. You can play audio through the built-in speaker, using headphones, or even through a speaker dock if you have one. Simply plug in, open the app, and you're in business.

If you're the sort of person who camps out at the box office days in advance for blockbuster-movie tickets -- or wakes up at 11 PM on Thanksgiving night to stand in line at Best Buy for the Black Friday doorbusters -- set your alarm clock.  Now.

Friday, March 12, is the day Apple begins taking pre-orders for the iPad, starting at 8:30 AM EST (5:30 AM PST).  This covers both the Wi-Fi unit with its April 3 release date, and the "later in April" 3G version.  Order it for store pickup, and it'll be waiting for you on the 3rd.  No store nearby?  You can have it shipped to you, but the unit'll ship on the 3rd.

Be curious to see how fast these puppies sell out -- or if Apple will just take every order it can, THEN figure out how to manufacture 'em all...

TUAW played hero today, riding to the rescue of would-be iPad pre-orderers everywhere with firm news from Apple PR of just when exactly those iPad pre-orders would start:

“Customers can pre-order online at apple.com at 5:30am Pacific time on Friday, March 12.”

So that’s 5:30am PT, 8:30am ET, 1:30pm GT. Of course, the Apple Online Store might go down first, and who knows what delays might spring up between now and then, but for what it’s worth that’s currently go time.

So now the question remains: who’s placing an order?!

Apple iPad Orders Start Tomorrow 5:30am PT, 8:30am ET, 1:30pm GT is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Firemint was honored with four awards from handheld gaming Website Pocket Gamer at a ceremony held at the annual Game Developers Conference.

With only a few weeks until the iPad's April 3rd launch, Apple is apparently making "last-minute" changes to its upcoming iBookstore along with certifying apps to run on the iPad. Per Forbes, San Francisco-based Busted Loop is said to have learned about the iBookstore categories while working on a project designed to make it easier for the public to find apps. The category infomation comes from data supplied to Apple enterprise partners.

OhGizmo has informed us that peripherals maker Novothink has released the new Solar Surge, a combination solar charger and carrying case for the iPhone 3G/3GS and the iPod Touch lets you harvest the sun’s energy to replenish your device’s less than epic battery.

According to the Novothink website, “2 hours of direct solar exposure provides about 30 minutes of talk time on a 3G network or 60 minutes of talk time on a 2G network". Users can always resort to the included USB cable for charging its built-in lithium-ion polymer battery.

Following in the wake of Apple's rejection of the Google Voice app about six months ago, the cool cats at Voice Central went a different route and created Black Swan, an app with similar functions to Google Voice, though instead of functioning as a web app, Black Swan is stored locally on the iPhone.

According to The Unofficial Apple Weblog, jailbroken iPhone users can simply go here and download the software, which supports features such as easy access to voicemails and quick access to the call or SMS buttons. Other features include a link to a list of recent calls, just like the iPhone OS app while other nice bells and whistles include landscape mode functionality.