iOS 5 is finally released by Apple and is available to everyone who want to upgrade their Apple devices. iOS 5 comes with whole lot of improvements (almost 200+ feautres) compared to iOS4 which provide users across the web a good reason to upgrade their devices. You will need iTunes 10.5 for the upgrade. In this post we will talk about some of the major features that come with this release and can be considered as the top reasons for anyone to upgrade. We will also talk about the top reasons which may force users not to upgrade and the reasons behind it.

Why you should not upgrade your device to iOS 5

No Untethered Jailbreak

If you have Jailbroken your device and have loads of jailbreak Cydia Apps installed on your system, it is advisable for you that you should not upgrade. The reason being, iOS 5 is still to be fully jailbreaked. Also, Even if you have jailbroken your device using tethered jailbreak method, you need to be near a computer everytime your battery goes out or you need to restart your device.

All Cydia Apps not fully compatible

Even though some form of tethered jailbreak is available, most of the jail broken apps may still not be compatible with this latest release.

No Jailbreak available for iPad 2

If you own a iPad 2, then you are almost out of luck as even the tethered jailbreak is not available for iPad 2.

Untethered Jailbreak Coming soon (Hopefully)

The good thing though is Devlopers are already working on Untethered Jailbreak and just a day back, we got the confirmation from developers that Unthered Jailbreak for iOS 5 is already covered.

Top Reason to Upgrade to iOS 5

Notification Center – All your alerts. All in one place.

It comes with new Notification Center to keep track of new email, texts, friend requests, and more just by swiping down from the top of any screen. Android users are already aware of this feature which already exists on their Android device and they do love this feature. We still need to see how Apple has reinvented this feature (Hopefully it did as it does with every feature they add). Notifications appear at top of the screen for a short interval of time and you can look at  them by swiping.

iMessage

IT comes with a new messaging system which lets users send unlimited text messages via Wi-Fi or 3G from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch to anyone having these devices. This new messasing service is built into the Messages app which means that you can send text, photos, videos, locations, and contacts too. Group messaging is also supported and you can even track messages with delivery receipts and optional read receipts, see when someone’s typing, and enjoy secure encryption for text messages.

Wi-Fi Sync and PC Free

You will no longer need a physical connection to your computer to Sync your device. Now you can wirelessly sync your device to your Mac or PC just over a shared Wi-Fi connection. It comes with this feature to automatically sync and back up any new content whether its movies, TV shows, home videos, and photo albums to iTunes  everywhere you just power your device.

You can activate and set up your device wirelessly, right out of the box., download free software updates directly on your device and do more with your apps — like editing your photos or adding new email folders.

Twitter Integrated right inside

It comes with tight integration of Twitter right inside iOS5. It makes iteasier to tweet from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Now you can tweet directly from Safari, Photos, Camera, YouTube, or Maps. Contacts applies your friends’ Twitter usernames and profile pictures directly. You longer need a seprate Twitter client.

Newsstand

It comes with Newsstand which organizes your magazine and newspaper app subscriptionsjust as Apple iBooks App. This looks too similar to iBooks App to access your favorite publications quickly and easily. There’s also a new place on the App Store just for newspaper and magazine subscriptions from where you can make purchases too.

Apart from these major feature additions, there are loads of more improvements that comes with iOS 5. As apple says, the number of features that got added or improved in iOS 5 is more than 200. So upgrade your iOS device to iOS5.

Which Apple iOS devices can be upgraded to iOS 5

Following Apple iOS devices can be upgraded to iOS5.

  • iPhone 3GS
  • iPhone 4
  • iPhone 4S (Already comes with iOS5)
  • iPod touch 3rd generation
  • iPod touch 4th generation
  • iPad
  • iPad 2