Apple catches up to some must have Android featured and a little extra

Note: The following impressions are from an early developer build, and may not represent the final version of iOS 5.

Apple has added some huge new additions to its iOS platform yesterday with the introduction of iOS 5. 

Activation without a computer.
You will no longer have to sync your phone with iTunes to activate your iPhone. This scan all be done via their new cloud service called iCloud. This has been an issue for users that don’t have a computer but may still want a smartphone.

Far better notifications along with Twitter integration
Anyone who has used both Android and the iPhone know the current way the iPhone does notifications is lacking. The current bubble popups have a tendency to interrupt if you are working on something. Android has seemed to have a better solution for this by storing all its notifications at the top of the phone where they can they be pulled down to check and access those apps. Apple seems to have adopted this same UI concept which will greatly help eliminate clutter and interruptions on the iPhone. Apple is also added Twitter integration directly into the phone allowing you to tweet an image right from the Photos app and add a contact’s Twitter handle and directly tweet to them from the contacts menu. This is integration that Android has had for a long time that was much needed in iOS.

Addition of Newsstand app, iMessage, and Reminders
A couple of cool additions her on the built in app side. Reminders is a built in To Do app where you can add To Dos and check it off when completed. iMessage is which will be a take on RIM’s awesome Blackberry Messenger. This should be a really cool feature. There is also The Newsstand app, but as of right now you can’t get into the store to download magazines or newspapers.

Photo editing from the photo app
Apple has included four new editing tools; rotate, crop, auto-enhance, and red eye.


These are just what we thought were the big and much needed additions. For a full look, Engadget has a great write up. Have a look over at Engadget.com