iOS 5

Ever since Apple introduced the first iPod, the world has never looked at music in the same way. Then, when the iPhone and iPod touch hit the market, touchscreen devices and smartphones made their debut. With the introduction of iOS 4, Apple brought multitasking to their mobile devices, adding more speed and functionality to their already revolutionary products. Now, with iOS 5, the best just got better.

iOS 5 is, as Apple puts it, the most advance mobile operating system on earth. The excellent design of over four years of hard work and experience is now more versatile, intuitive, and capable with Apple's 2011 edition of iOS. The goal in the minds of Apple Inc. when making this mobile OS was to increase the usability and functionality while, at the same time, making the new features and the old more simple and easy to use. And now, the goal I have in mind is to hit the high points of iOS 5, and to show you reason after reason why you should get it, and, if you already have it, how to use it to its fullest ability. After all, if you're going to have such a wonderful operating system, you need to know how to get the most out of it that you possibly can.

Notification Center is arguably the largest part of this update. I know it's definitely one of the many added features that make my life run a little smoother. The way Notification Center works gives you a much better than the old way of receiving and dealing with notifications. If you are notified of something while your device is asleep, all your notifications are displayed on the home screen in a nice, little list. But instead of sliding to unlock and navigating to the particular apps that notified you of something, you can simply swipe to unlock on any certain notification and you will go directly to the app that requests attention. After you deal with that notification, say, a text, you can swipe down from the top of your screen to reveal the Notification Center menu, which allows you to deal with the next item on your waiting list, which, for example, could be a new voicemail. After listening to the message, you decide to play a game. While slinging birds or cutting ropes, someone is thinking of you and sends an email. You are notified of this by 1/3 or 1/2 an inch of the top of you screen folding back and displaying the sender and possibly a few lines of the message, depending on your personal settings. If you're about to win the game, there is no need to pay any attention to the notification or to stop playing at all. The alert doesn't hinder gameplay in any way. However, if you want to read the rest of that email, you can either tap on the notification immediately, or, after it goes away a few seconds later, all you need do is swipe from the top of your screen and select that email, and your device will take you directly to not only that app, but the very email you wish. The Notification Center is convenience redefined.

The Reminders app added in iOS 5 is a better way to organize, or simply remember, things in your life. Basically an extension of the Calendar, Reminders lets you make lists of things to do and check them off as they're completed. This can be helpful for grocery shopping or simply reminding yourself to do things. It will also remind you via notification at certain times and even when you arrive at or leave certain places. It's all up to you.

Newsstand delivers the morning paper to your iDevice, and then lets you update the headlines all through the day. You can organize and read the magazines you're subscribed to while enjoying the advantage of going digital, as you're not only saving paper, but most magazines and newspapers embed videos in the articles, making your reading experience the next best thing to being on the scene live and in person.

iMessage is a dream come true to users who enjoy texting. Allowing you to send text, pictures, and video, and contacts (among other things), iMessage is a cross-platform texting service for iOS 5 users. You can text anyone who has an Apple ID as well as iOS 5. It's time to delete those lame messaging apps that plague the App Store. A really good way to not only free up your device's memory and enjoy texting more, but to be confident that your messaging app actually works.

Some aspects of Mail are changed, and the ability to format text has been added. Now you can add expression to your emails by writing bold, italicized, and underlined text.

Game Center has taken on the ability to display your profile picture as well as for you to see friends of friends, allowing you to expand your list of fellow, friendly gamers. You can now see the amount of points you've made from achievements, and you can now purchase and download apps directly from Game Center.

If your device has a camera (as do all iOS 5 devices except iPod touch 3rd Generation and the original iPad), taking pictures spontaneously has been redefined. Now, instead of waking your device, sliding to unlock, tap the Camera icon, and tapping the on-screen capture button, you can simply double-tap the home button, tap the camera button that appears next to the slide to unlock bar, and not only can you tap the on-screen capture button, but you can snap photos with the volume-up button on the side of your device. Also added are options for editing your photos on the go with cropping, red-eye reduction, and auto-enhancing, giving you the perfection combination of options for taking pictures and uploading them to your favorite social network in seconds. And that, my dear reader, leads to my next topic.

With iOS 5, Twitter is supported and integrated into many aspects of this mobile operating system. You can tweet pictures straight from your Camera Roll and photo albums, webpages right out of Safari, your current location, and much more. Don't have a Twitter account? The Settings in iOS 5 allow you to make your own account without opening a web browser. You can even download the free Twitter app straight from the same menu. 

As for why Facebook isn't integrated as well, I don't really know. Speculation could argue that Twitter may have put up a better bid for such an enormous promotion. For example, I didn't have Twitter and wasn't planning to until iOS 5 came along. But when I saw how easy it is to tweet practically anything I want, I decided to try it out. I'm sure many iOS users have followed my example, which causes Twitter to gain membership and therefore money and therefore a future. Do I wish Facebook was fully integrated as well? Sure I do; I would rather hang out on Facebook any day. But since that hasn't happened yet, I'll see you on Twitter. You can follow me with my username @PianoPlayerTDR.

Safari has been made better with tabbed browsing on the iPad, and Reader install across all the devices. Reader mode moves you into a pristine browsing experience, eliminating all the clutter (such as ads and other unwanted items) from your webpage, allowing you to view only the photos and get you want. This cleans up your screen--and the web.

There are several more subtle features of iOS 5 that may not meet the eye immediately, but when one is as tech-savvy and Apple-happy as I am, one tends to simply know these things. For example, it is a little known fact that, if you have an Apple Wireless (Magic) Keyboard, you can pair it with your iOS 5 device to type wirelessly with your keyboard. This works for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, so you can sell that annoying iPad stand keyboard thing some salesperson talked you into buying. That is, you can sell it if you have an Apple Wireless Keyboard (which happens to come with iMacs).

Auto-correct is nice to have when you misspell a word, but sometimes it can be a headache. iOS 5 introduces a way to conquer and control auto-correct, making it extremely advantageous and time-saving. By going to Settings > General > Keyboard > Shortcuts, you can add in words to your personal dictionary so auto-correct wouldn't despise you anymore. But perhaps the most handy tool is the ability to make shortcuts that turn auto-correct into your personal servant. Let's say for example that I wish I didn't have to type out PianoPlayerTDR each time I wanted to put it in a text area. I follow the above path, tap '+', and insert PianoPlayerTDR in the 'Phrase' section. Then I type my shortcut, for example, pptdr, below it. After I tap 'Save', auto-correct will insert 'PianoPlayerTDR' each time I type 'pptdr' on my device. Another example would be with my name. By using the shortcut, I simply type 'ti' when I want to say 'Timothy', and I save time and energy by using this shortcut. Granted, typing five fewer letters may not seem like a huge time saver, but when you enter a variety of shortcuts, the time you save adds up.

Find My [iPad, iPhone, or iPod (fill in the blank, depending on your device)] can be a handy tool if your device is ever lost or stolen. Not only can you track your device, but you can display an on-screen message, sound an alarm for up to two minutes, put a passcode on your device, and even fully wipe its data. Any educated thief (is there such a thing?) will think twice before stealing your iDevice if iOS 5 is installed.

iCloud. A separate subject entirely, iCloud is a new cloud storage service which allows you to back up up to five gigabytes of data for free. I have my Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Safari Bookmarks, and Mail settings backed up to iCloud, securing me from data loss. iCloud also backs up your Notes, Documents & Data, and distributes your photos to all your devices via Photo Stream. You even get a free email account at Me.com along with your iCloud account.

Tired of constantly having to plug your device into your computer, open iTunes, and wait for it to sync all your awesome but huge files? Then get iOS 5. The iTunes Wi-Fi Sync will automatically being when your device is plugged in to a power source, connected to the same Wi-Fi network as said computer, asleep, and if iTunes is open on said computer. This frees everyone up quite a bit. Another feature that goes hand-in-hand with the Wi-Fi sync is the ability to update your device's software wirelessly. Like syncing, you no longer need to plug your device in a computer to get the latest software update from Apple. Simply go to Settings > General > Software Update and follow the on-screen instructions. Together with iCloud, the wireless Software Update allows you to own an iOS 5 (or later) device WITHOUT owning a computer. Your iPads, iPhones, and iPod touches are now free.

The downsides to upgrading to iOS 5 is that it may tend to run slower on older devices, and installing it is a real pain. When it first came out, the masses (including myself) rushed to download it promptly at 10:00 AM Pacific Time. For me, that was 1:00 PM, and I waited in anticipation. Unfortunately, like so many other eager iFans, I received error code 3200, meaning that the servers were bogged down, and to try again later. (This error code should not appear anymore, as the initial rush is over.) After finally downloading the software a day or two later, I realized that it has to take all my apps off to install iOS 5. This might not be a problem from most people, but iTunes stopped working on my Windows laptop (long story), and I don't have an Internet connection on my iMac (another long story), so I currently have 12 applications on my iPod touch, as opposed to the 300+ apps I had before upgrading. But this is actually a good thing. Now that all those apps I never used are off, all I need do is install the ones I really will use. Once you've purchased (getting an app is called purchasing it, even if the app is free) an app, you can download it at any time for free, and, for some reason, downloading an app that was previously installed on my device is MUCH faster than downloading it for the first time. So really, the downsides to iOS 5 very small and insignificant if not blessing in disguise. Sure I have to reinstall or re-sync all my apps, but it helps me clean out all the items I don't use. So really, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages by astronomical proportions.

There are many features contained in iOS 5 other than the few I have described here, so the best way to find out what all is included is to see for yourself. If you have an eligible device and haven't downloaded it yet, I suggest you open iTunes as soon as is physically possible and get it. Apple brags 200+ features and I believe them. Though the software will naturally tend to run slower on older devices (such as my 3rd generation iPod touch), it is well worth it when considering the convenience and time-saving additions and tweaks weaved throughout this mobile OS. With all these features I've mentioned together with the many other features included, as Apple says, iOS 5 is truly the most advanced mobile operating system in the world.