iOS 5: What I'm Excited (and Disappointed) About

I hate to admit it, but I am an Apple fangirl. I got a Macbook in '09 (when they still had MacBooks with the aluminum unibody, not just the Macbook Pro), an iPhone 4 in 2010, and an iPad 2 this year. And I really want a desktop Mac even though I know it would really be a waste because I don't wanna sit at a desk all the time and hello, the laptop is for the house! Yes, Apple has its hooks in me.

So it should be no surprise that I am one of those folks who anxiously await iOS updates and the latest and greatest gadget announcement. I have been following everything I can about iOS 5 and iPhone 5 (even though I won't be able to get one... but I'm looking forward to the iPhone 6). There are some huge improvements, but also some things that are still not quite there yet. So I've laid out the things I am most excited about, as well as what has disappointed me.



Enhancements Worth Being Excited About

1. Improved Notifications
OMG I cannot tell you how annoying it is to be in the middle of a video or game and get interrupted by that big blue box about something that I usually couldn't care less about. Now notifications will show up at the top of the screen (much like Android) and won't interrupt activity. Huzzah.

2. Automatic Syncing (iCloud)
Since I am trying to be more organized, I am using the calendar functions on my iDevices more often. The problem is that I don't sync them every night because I rarely even turn on my laptop anymore unless I have real work to do. The ability to automatically sync calendars (as well as contacts and apps) is a definite plus. (Sidenote: a few weeks ago I started noticing that if I downloaded an app on my iPhone, it would show up on my iPad and vice versa. Don't recall that happening before. Perhaps Apple was testing some of its iCloud features? IDK)

3. Tabbed Browsing for iPad
This makes much more sense than having to completely go out of one window to open another one. Seems like this would have been a feature from jump, but I guess it's better late than never. Hopefully it will allow for more than nine tabs (the current Safari browser only allows nine windows; open a 10th and something gets lost).

4. Improved Picture Capability
With iOS 5, we'll be able to edit pictures and organize pictures in albums. Jeez, it's about time! My Treo could do this way back in 2006.

5. To-Do List
Again, why wasn't this standard to begin with? Finally I can keep track of what to do, shopping lists, etc. on my phone (without the assistance of crappy apps) instead of on random scraps of paper that I always seem to lose until after I need them.

I Would Un-Jailbreak My Phone If It Had These Features

1. Locking Apps
I know this would probably not happen as an app, but Apple developers are capable of creating an option to lock apps. It seems logical. After all, many people (like me) have apps related to their business or personal finance. Although I usually have my phone in hand at all times, it would be nice to have the added security of password protection on those apps should my phone fall into the wrong hands.

2. True Tethering
I know iDevices already have tethering capability, but this is still at with the additional expense of a tethering plan from providers. If there were some work around to tether without the additional charge, I would reverse my jailbreak. After all, I'm paying for an unlimited data plan, I should be able to use it how I want to! But, I know this has more to do with the carriers and not Apple itself, so this is a pipe dream.

3. Way Better Email Handling
Yes, I know better email is a feature of iOS 5, but I said way better. As it, Blackberry-level better. Yes, the one thing I miss about my Blackberry Bold is how awesome the email was. I loved that I could customize settings for each account. I cannot stand that the signature and "sent from" name is the same on all of my accounts. Considering I use one email for real estate, one for blogging, and one for personal business plus one for random coupons and debauchery, I don't want to have the same info showing up for all of them. Maybe this is something that is addressed in the update, but I haven't seen anything hinting towards it.

So that's my list. I cannot wait until the update is released (although I'll probably have to wait a few days for the untethered jailbreak version). Let's see if it's all it's cracked up to be.

Are you hype about the new iOS? What features are you looking forward to? Are you a hating Android user? If so, let me know which one you're using and why you think it's so great. I'll listen, I promise!