iPhone 4 and 4S

[Bobbin]

So the new iOS5 will be released today, and as previous major software releases I would expect it to be with us at 6pm UK time.

Lots of new things to get used to and I am in no doubt there are going to be a few of us who will be struggling to get to grips with all the new functionality, after all there are 200 improvements in this release. It is also important to remember that if you are upgrading from a 3G or iPhone 4, Siri will not be available to you, it is iPhone 4S specific.

Also worth noting that you will need to update your iTunes to the latest version which was released yesterday to prepare for the download and install of iOS5.

So looking forward to it and hoping we can all help each other out in getting used to the new functions quickly :-)

[chrisdeeming1]

I've not followed the beta as closely as I have in previous years. Probably because RIGHT NOW I don't have an iPhone at all.

I am intrigued about iMessage personally. Seems to be like it will be a fantastic up yours to RIM at the moment against BBM.

I can't say I've ever used BBM. Is it like a separate app that you consciously have to think "OK I'm going to BBM that person rather than SMS them" or is it seamless between the two like iMessage?

The impression I got with iMessage is that if you send a message, and the other end is connected to iMessage with an iPhone (or indeed iPad or iPod) that they will receive it as an iMessage rather than an SMS. Have I got that right?

What with all the issues BlackBerry has had the few days, I can see their usage numbers plummeting over the next few years.

I work in IT and it's actually cheaper to give out iPhones and use the Exchange functionality than it is to give out BB.

Also, it's then normally only our IT department responsible for any outages, not some server in Slough that isn't backed up properly!

I digress - I dislike BlackBerry

Other things I'm looking forward to, is I believe there are custom message and e-mail alert tones, at last?

[cmatt]

Got it in one.

It can detect whether or not your texting someone who has an iPhone that is running ios5, then switches to iMessage seemlessly.  If you have texted someone in the past it will keep the iMessage chat in the same 'window' as previous messages.

Best of all it is kept under messages - and is not a seperate 'app'

The other nifty little thing thats well hidden is setting the phone to custom vibrate - you can set custom virbration patterns to individual contacts.  But even better - you can dictate which side of the iPhone you want to vibrate.  I.E - left,right,middle.  I think you can also set  top ,bottom  but I cant remember and my old iPhone is in a better place....

[chrisdeeming1]

I wish my old iPhone was in a better place. I lost it in a shopping centre I'm sure it's sitting happily in a Cash Converters window somewhere!

That custom vibration thing sounds brilliant. I tend to not worry about custom notifications at that level though. I'm one of those annoying people that has to look at their phone the moment it goes off whether it be call, text, e-mail, notification from Angry Birds...

[Bobbin]

Something else worth noting is iCloud for enterprise. Blackberry is used by business due to the secure nature of the servers, so secure over the last two days that no one can send anything :-)
But iCloud has raised a few questions about security and rightly so, it is worth remembering that iCloud will sync with all devices in range that are registered. So important work stuff can end up on all your iOS devices. Apps like Box.Net are great for business as you can control what is synced and who has access to the files, it is very similar to Dropbox but offers far greater security for business.

iCloud will work great for normal users, just not for large enterprise companies that need security :-)

[GavinKemp]

I've been fortunate enough to of had the beta since day one on my iPhone 4 and iPad 2.

Personally, I love it!

There's a few features i'd still like to see, like pull down to refresh in the emails etc but we can't have it all

If you have any questions or want any screenshots of anything, let me know and i''ll do my best to help out....

[cmatt]

hah - I am VERY precious about my shiny thing... <3 

having used mobile me for zonks - I tend to use it at a very personal level. Only using the contact and calendar sync for work related stuff...

People just need to get over the fact that its not an enterprise solution as already stated. You can turn off various parts of iCloud... I wonder if apple eventually plan to charge for a bonus enterprise solution at some point.....?

Gavin - I am also a beta tester - so i can make sure the apps I develop for work - still work - on the new ios' the pain of a couple of the betas that were flakey still burn deep...

[Bobbin]

I would be surprised if there isn't an Enterprise version of iCloud. Apple have iMessenger and this would be the next step to take Blackberry's huge client base of corporate customers, IF they get the security right on a paid solution of iCloud.

I can see this version being a test for them so they can see how well it works and if they have the correct capacity to handle the huge amounts of server space going to be required, and also if those servers are going to be able to cope well enough under the strain.

[JB1986]

This may be a silly question but if you are using iMessage and sending messages back and forth with somebody, and the other person loses internet signal, will a message that you have already pressed send on get delivered as a text instead? Basically will it switch between the 2 if required?

[Bobbin]

From my understanding of iMessage, it will send either wifi or normal network regardless. It is dependant on the recipient having a iOS5 device.

So if you loose wifi the message will simply send as normal, but still as a iMessage, just may take a little longer to get there if for example you are sending a picture.

I could be wrong though

[JB1986]

Thanks for this.. I may be getting confused, but I was meaning more so when you have no internet at all, i.e when you have some bars of signal but no 'E', 'o' or 3G.. But maybe when this is the case you don't get texts either?

[Bobbin]

Just checked and I was right :-)
from the Apple website -

You can send unlimited text messages via wi-fi or 3G from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch to anyone with one of those devices. iMessage is built into the Messages app, so you can send text, photos, videos, locations, and contacts.

[mhs81]

The only issue I have with Imessage is that you could inadvertently send mms messages which could end up costing a lot of money. Hopefully it'll be obvious if this is the case

[Bobbin]

MMS messages are free using iMessage to other iOS5 devices, text, video, photos, contacts and locations

[mhs81]

Yes, but if for done reason the recipient loses connection to Imessage, the message will go via mms, which will cost according to your plan

[Bobbin]

It will send via 3G or wi-fi and from what I understand, if you loose 3G it will hold until it establishes connection again and not send via your normal route of MMS

[Bobbin]

Just looked a little deeper and iMessage uses data to send the message not the carrier APN if thats right, so without wi-fi or 3G it wont send the message, it will hold for the data signal to come back.

[JB1986]

Thanks Bobbin!

[cmatt]

from what I can recollect it will just switch to *sms* to deliver the text bobbin. Noticed this a few times with my colleagues at work. Sometimes it would send an iMessage and sometimes not.

[Jacbowen2]

If you have no signal it will offer to switch to send via SMS and it automatically detects if a user is iMessage enabled using email (for iPad) or telephone number providing they have iMessage enabled.