Max

With iOS 5 set to go live in a half-hour, there are some key features (some noticeable and some slightly more difficult to find) that make using the iPhone the easiest yet. Here are the biggest features of iOS 5:

-iMessage – Similar to a BBM (BlackBerry Message), it sends a message directly to another iOS device, even over wifi. This is a huge feature for those of you who have AT&T, as you can now text over wifi to other iPhone users. Verizon and Sprint users will probably not benefit as much from this, but it is still a useful feature nonetheless. iOS 5 auto detects if the person you are sending the message to is on iMessage, so there is nothing extra that you have to do in order to use this feature. If iMessage fails to send, it will auto send as a text, which helps in not worrying if something send for not.

-Reminders – Location specific or time specific (or neither) alerts for important upcoming events. A highly useful feature if you have a busy schedule or don’t feel like remembering when you have an appointment. A very useful feature that is very polished in the final version of iOS.

-Picture Editing – self-explanatory, as you can now edit pictures within the pictures app. It is mostly simple editing, as crop, enhance, and red-eye removal are the only options. It saves over the original picture when saving, however.

-Notifications – One of the biggest additions to iOS is the completely revamped notification system. The notifications are now non-obtrusive, and do not get in the way of using the phone. A banner appears over the top of the screen, which disappears after two seconds. You can set it to two minute alert intervals to keep reminding you as well. If you prefer the old method, you can switch back to that in the settings app, as well as customize which notifications you receive and which widgets appear on the drop down menu. The drop down menu is brought up by dragging down on the screen from the status bar. Overall, a great addition to iOS.

-Newsstand – It seems to be similar to an RSS reader, such as the reeder app. As of right now, it does not seem to work efficiently and it cumbersome. Also, you cannot make the icon go in a folder. IF you read news on the iPhone, I would suggest using an RSS app over this. Just on the basis of not being able to make the icon go away makes this feature annoying.

-Twitter Integration – If you are an avid Twitter user, this will greatly aid in your ability to Tweet, as you can easily include pictures and your location with the deep integration of Twitter in iOS 5. If you are a fan of Twitter, this is a great feature for you. If you don’t like Twitter, having this built in does not detract from your iOS 5 experience at all, as it is not an obnoxious inclusion.

-iCloud – As Apple has repeatedly said, this is a wireless back-up and sync option that stores all your data on a cloud drive. If you worry about losing your backups, this is a good alternative to syncing with your computer, especially if you are on the move a lot. In my use of iCloud, I found that it did detract from battery life slightly, as well as make many repeat copies of calendar events. It does not drastically reduce battery life, but it does drain a bit slower if you sync contacts and calendars often, as I did.

-Music Match – This will be enabled on the iPhone before it is available on iTunes, but it scans your music library and backs it up wirelessly (up to 20,000 songs). If there is an iTunes store version of your song, that will be the version that is backed up. If not, then your music file will be uploaded. If you have a lot of music that is not of high quality, then this could be an easy way to improve the sound of the music. For 24.99 USD a year, not too bad at all.

-Wi-FI Sync – You can now wirelessly back up you iPhone to your laptop as long as it is on the same Wi-Fi network. When plugged into a wall, the iPhone will auto sync if the computer is open. If you want to sync without plugging in, this cane started by going into the settings app and going to the general subsection.

-Over-the-Air Updates – You can now update your phone over the air, without plugging in. A much smaller file will be downloaded instead of the entire .ipa file.

That is a short list of the most important features of iOS 5, but here are some of the smaller ones:

-Dictionary – you can now set custom words, so that it does not auto-correct all the time.

-Messages – you can scroll up and see what was previously said and still see what you have typed so far. I find this very useful.

-Sounds – You can now set custom text tones. Finally.

-Camera App – Double clicking the home button while at the lock screen will bring up a camera short cut.

-Animations – Animations are now more fluid, and the overall graphical appearance of iOS has been updated to look more sharp.

That is a short run-down of the most important iOS 5 features, and hopefully it will aid in making the decision of wether or not to update.