Before the iPad even landed, pundits picked apart its palpable flaws, one of which is the device’s lack of a built-in camera. If you own both an iPhone and an iPad however, you can jimmy rig the former into a wireless iPad camera for $.99.

All that you need to take photos on your iPad is two apps,CAMERA-A [iTunes link] for the iPad for $.99 and CAMERA-B[iTunes link] for the iPhone 3GS (free).

To take iPad photos wirelessly from the iPhone, pair both devices via bluetooth or make sure they’re on the same wireless network. Then open both apps. You’ll immediately notice that what your iPhone camera sees is mirrored on your iPad’s screen. Simply use your iPhone as the lens, click the photo button on the iPad and your snapshot will be saved to your iPad.

If it sounds complicated, rest assured, it isn’t. In our test trials the iPhone functioned flawlessly as a wireless camera and with each snap we were able to save the photo to the iPad’s photo library (see my sample photo below).

It may not be the most ideal iPad camera solution, but it’s certainly one that works. Try it out for yourself and let us know what you think in the comments.

Instead of just making their iPhone app bigger, Loopt has opted to go in a different direction and focus on providing real-time content related to nearby places and events that are popular among friends with Loopt Pulse for iPad [iTunes link].

If screenshots are any indication, Loopt’s approach to location-based content on the iPad is both stunning and relevant. It looks to be an interactive and visual cross between review sites like Yelp, event sites like Eventful and maps apps à la Google Maps.

The app integrates with Facebook so users can login via Facebook Connect and opt for a map or photo experience of popular nearby places and events. App content is seeded from Loopt partners like Zagat, Bing, events and City Search, and users are free to explore it all with their fingertips. The app also allows users to RSVP for Facebook events, share recommendations with friends and view friends’ favorites.

CEO Sam Altman explains that the application was designed with users’ lifestyle needs in mind. He says, “Our guess is that people will use the iPad sitting on the couch at home, and take it with them to coffeeshops and for use on train rides, but not use it while walking down the street. So we tried to focus on helping you plan what to do in a couple of hours, not a couple of minutes.”

On that front, the Photo View looks especially promising and offers foodies and entertainment seekers a unique way of browsing nearby restaurants and events. Altman believes this is the most interesting feature and hopes to expand upon the Photo View in future releases.