• About Geek Beat
  • Newsletter
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Login
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Geek Beat

One of the world’s most recognizable technology news brands, delivering daily tech news, tips, and reviews.

  • News
    • Apple
    • CES
    • Editor’s Choice
    • Google
    • How To’s
    • Microsoft
    • Music
    • Mobility
    • NABShow
    • Photography
  • Episodes
  • Reviews
  • Videos
  • Connect With Us
    • Chat Rooms
    • DropCams
    • Geek Beat Live!
    • Product Review Submissions
Home > News > REVIEW: iOS 5 Hands-On

REVIEW: iOS 5 Hands-On

October 12, 2011 by Gord McLeod

iOS5 Notifications

So did everyone survive the launch of all launches this week? Apple released iOS 5 today, though the fallout on the Internet has been pretty severe with horror stories of download failures, overloaded connections, error codes, bricked phones and much frustration. I am in fact the only GeekBeat.TV blogger who has attempted the update and succeeded with any sort of ease; Daynah endured a 7 hour battle with the process before finally being able to declare victory. Beyond our own site, many others are reporting similar problems, including iJustine.

Of course this is not unusual for new iOS releases; it happens pretty much every year. So if you haven’t updated yet, maybe sit this out for a day or two, wait for the dust to settle, and check out our report. We wish you luck if you decide to persevere; hopefully things will get easier before long!

Notifications

The first thing you won’t notice is the new notification system. Gone are the days of giant popups thrusting themselves into your awareness without regard for what you’re up to. Check out the image above; now you swipe down from the top of the screen and your notifications are nicely stacked there, waiting for your convenience and sorted by app.

I can’t begin to tell you how nice a change this is, and stands as my personal favorite feature in iOS 5 at least for the moment. Of course I’ve barely had a few hours to play with it so this could change over time.

Twitter Integration

iOS5 Maps Location Sharing

Another big feature that’s gotten a lot of attention is the Twitter integration. iOS 5 builds Twitter right into their API, allowing not only included apps like Maps to take advantage of it, but any 3rd party apps that developers care to work it into.

Messages

iOS5 Messages

Blackberry chose a really bad week to start failing on an almost global basis. iOS 5 introduces a new Messages app that competes directly with Blackberry Messenger (BBM), simply called Messenger. Like BBM, Messenger lets you send quick text messages to any iOS 5 user for free, instead of using the more typical SMS service.

Reminders

iOS5 Reminders

Another new app bundled with iOS 5 is the Reminders app, which augments your Calendar app to show you tasks you’re assigned and ones you’ve completed. Mine populates nicely with data taken from my Outlook tasks at work, much as the Mail and Calendar apps do. It also, of course, draws on iCloud as a resource.

I haven’t had time to verify this, but it does seem likely that it’ll interact with Notifications when tasks come close to due.

Newsstand

iOS5 Newsstand

For magazine enthusiasts comes the iOS Newsstand, where your periodicals will live and be read with ease. It features a handy link to Apple’s store where you can find the titles that interest you.

iCloud

iOS5 Settings iCloud

Of course today also marks the launch of Apple’s iCloud service. I can’t say as much about it as I’d like, as I can’t make use of all of it, being in Canada. It does bring with it the promise of moving a lot of your data, maybe all of your data into the cloud, depending on where you are and how much you’re willing to pay for the service.

Along with cloud storage of music, movies, TV shows and other stuff you buy on the iTunes store, there’s also the handy Find My iPad (or iPhone, etc) feature that’s gotten so much positive attention for helping people recover lost or stolen devices. You’ll notice I wasted no time in turning that sucker on.

Accessibility

iOS5 Settings Accessability

Accessibility gets a boost in iOS 5 with voice over, zoom, large text, white on black and other options designed to make the system much more friendly to people with vision or hearing problems, or even physical/motor control problems.

Siri

I wish I could cover Siri, but I’m running iOS 5 on an iPad 2. That should be able to run Siri, but apparently they’re limiting that to the 4S. At least for now. I’ll hold out hope that Siri will appear in a later update… who knows?

In the meantime, Cali will be getting a brand new shiny iPhone 4S in the near future, and you can be sure she’ll be letting us know what Siri’s all about.

So how are you dealing with the iOS 5 release? Check out the comments and let us know whether you’re updating now or holding off.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Apple, blackberry, Mobility, Nano, photography, siri

About Gord McLeod

I'm a writer and game designer with a background covering everything from IT work to programming to the graphic arts. I'm intensely interested in everything game, gadget and science related.
Find me at Fiction Improbable, my fiction writing website, at @gordmcleod on Twitter, and at my Google+ Profile too.

Popular Posts

  • Complete Sci-Fi Spaceship Size Comparison Chart by giovanni | posted on September 19, 2014 | under News
  • How To Keep A Constant In Excel And Other Spreadsheets by Scott Ellis | posted on April 19, 2012 | under News, Tutorial
  • How To Add Sound and Voice to Your Photos by giovanni | posted on July 22, 2013 | under Episodes
  • How Much Money Will Fit in a Briefcase? by John P. | posted on September 26, 2013 | under Episodes
  • How to Access Advanced Boot Options in Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 by Robert Albury | posted on September 10, 2014 | under Tutorial
  • Everything We Know About the Ashley Madison Hack – Plus Find Out If YOU’RE On The List by John P. | posted on August 19, 2015 | under News
  • How To Redirect Windows User Profile Data to a Different Location by Robert Albury | posted on November 14, 2014 | under Tutorial
  • How to Use Your Own Router with AT&T U-verse by Chris Bramble | posted on February 17, 2014 | under News, Tutorial
  • Up, Down, Left, Right, Click! by Jenn Castillo | posted on August 10, 2010 | under News
  • Tutorial: Adding a Networked Printer with QNAP by Benjamin J. Roethig | posted on July 7, 2014 | under Tutorial

Recent Posts

  • Best CBD Oil Brands to Buy
  • Go Mic Mobile Wireless System for Mobile Filmmakers
  • A RAY OF LIGHT
  • Keep Devices Charged Anywhere in the World with the Twist Plus World Charging Station
  • Final Leaked iPhone 7 Details Before The Big Event

Recent Comments

  • Ricardo Garza on Streambox Announces 360 Live Video Streaming to YouTube
  • Sunbya on Review: Blue Lola Headphones bring unparalleled quality
  • Jay Anderson on CES2016 – Autel Robotics X-Star Quadcopters
  • Scott Ellis on CES2016 – The Parrot DISCO – The Worlds First Fixed Wing Consumer Drone
  • Ricardo Garza on CES2016 – The Parrot DISCO – The Worlds First Fixed Wing Consumer Drone

Tags

3D Amazon Apple apps audio bluetooth bluetooth speakers business CE Line Shows 2013 CES computers fitness gadgets games gaming geek geek beat GeekBeat geek house Google health how-to ios john p. kickstarter Microsoft mobile Mobility Music nabshow new building Other photography Reviews robots Samsung social media speakers storage tech technology Tutorial vehicles video vlog

Copyright © 2022 · Geek Media on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in