Apple iOS 5 for iPhone

iOS 5 won't be ready for the masses until this Fall, but lucky developers -- and eager tech bloggers -- are able to get in on the action right now. We just got done downloading the 730MB BETA, and have decided to turn our iPhone 4 and iPad 2 into guinea pigs for all the newness. Apple says that there are over 200 new features baked into the updated OS, and we've run through the biggies from Notification Center to Twitter to that oh-so-convenient split keyboard for you -- all you need to do is click after the break.

Many of the new features in iOS 5 are things we've been sitting, waiting, and wishing for since the iPhone first launched. Complete with a more robust notification scheme and a brand new messaging protocol, Apple has filled in many of the gaps that have left it behind other OSs like Android and webOS.When you first power up the device, you're greeted with an option to select your WiFi network -- a necessary step for all the cloud-related goodies and WiFi sync features that are now present in the OS. 

Once you're online, you enter your Apple ID, or can sign up for one directly on the device you're using -- which is great for those of us living in a post PC era. After that you get prompted on whether or not you'd like to use iCloud -- which you obviously do -- followed by an option to use the free Find My iPhone service. Finally, after deciding whether or not you'd like to share your usage stats with Apple or not (take a guess at what we chose), you're up and running to "start using the most advanced iOS ever" -- Apple's words, not ours. Now that the hard stuff is out of the way, let's get on to what you've most been waiting for: the new stuff.

Notifications also live on the homescreen, though it looks as if they only appear when a new notification has appeared after the device has been locked. Meaning, if you get an email and don't read it while you're doing something else, notifications don't show up on the homescreen. However, if you get one while the device is locked, all notifications appear and you're given the option to swipe directly to any one of your choosing. We hope this becomes an option before this OS goes gold, but for now, it's simply so much better than what we had before, so we don't want to get too picky (especially in a BETA).

One of the rumors that gained a bit of traction before the keynote was native Twitter integration directly inside iOS. It's now possible to Tweet from within Apple's native apps: websites in Safari, or photos in the Camera app. The "Tweet" button is located under the familiar sharing pane, and ticking it pops up the keyboard along with an overlay that resembles an index card, complete with ruled lines and a paper clip to visualize what you're attaching. Geotagging is available through a simple tap of the "Add Location" option, and one more tap sends the tweet out to all your followers.

Update: We've played a bit more with iMessage and it looks like the differentiating factor between an iMessage and SMS is the color. When someone is eligible for an iMessage, the text in the box reads "iMessage" (as opposed to "Text Message") and the bubbles all turn blue. We're still not quite sure how email accounts or phone numbers can tell the device which is which, but it's probably some magic on the Apple backend. There are also text bubble previews that show up when the other person is typing, and read confirmations also list a time.
Another minor thing we've noticed is that push notifications look the exact same for both iMessages and SMSs since they use the same messages icon. It's a bit confusing to figure out the different implementations of iMessages versus SMSs off the bat, but once you've started a type of conversation, the different color schemes serve as indicators.

Apple iPhone 4G 16GB Quadband World GSM Phone (Manufacturer Unlocked)

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