If you own an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, this is no ordinary Wednesday. That’s because the overlords in Cupertino have blessed us with the release of iOS 5, the latest and greatest version of their mobile operating system which comes with more than 200 new features you’re sure to love.
Apple has officially pushed out iOS 5 on Wednesday as promised, following a trail of companion updates in the last 24 hours which included the required iTunes 10.5 on Tuesday as well as iCloud.com and the new Find My Friends and AirPort Utility apps this morning. But enough about those -- here’s a recap of what you’ll be getting as you download iOS 5 via iTunes while reading this, perhaps the very last time you’ll need to do that procedure.
That’s because iOS 5 introduces a new “PC-free” initiative, including Wi-Fi syncing with iTunes, backup and restore and finally, at long last, the inclusion of over the air updates for future iOS updates (which presumably includes the iOS 6 and beyond). Acknowledging that many iOS device owners don’t own a computer -- which has been required prior to this release -- the cord is finally cut and users can mostly enjoy a wireless existence from here on out.
Other standout iOS 5 features include the new Notification Center, which finally addresses one of the more annoying aspects of earlier versions: Those pop-up notifications that tend to stop everything in their tracks until you act upon them. Now, iOS 5 will gently nudge you with incoming notifications, and users can choose to ignore them or act upon them with a tap.
iMessage also promises to revolutionize instant messaging between iOS users. Seamlessly built into the existing Messages app, iPhone users now have the option of communicating via SMS or MMS with their carrier or with other iPod touch and iPad users using Wi-Fi (or 3G data, in the case of the iPhone and iPad).
Other features include Newsstand for organizing your periodical subscriptions, Reminders so you won’t forget upcoming events, built-in Twitter for sending tweets from any of the built-in apps (as well as third-party apps that utilize the feature), tons of new Camera and Photos app changes, tabbed browsing and Read It Later mode in Mobile Safari and lots and lots more.
So what are you waiting for? Hit up that fresh new copy of iTunes 10.5 and get downloading for your device (or devices) right now.
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diedrichg
October 12, 2011 at 12:25pm
I'm running Windows 7 and I keep getting an error 3200 that it can't be updated and that it must be restored. I try restore and I get the same error. All firewalls, anti-virus and malware detection programs are off. I've restarted my computer. I've deleted the iOS 5 update and have re-downloaded. Still no luck.
Any thoughts on a ERROR 3200?
diedrichg
October 12, 2011 at 1:14pm
I'll keep this basic and not too wordy... The error 3200 actually started out as a Error 1603 saying that the update failed and that I needed to recover and update the device.
1. Disconnect the iDevice
2. Restart your computer
3. Start iTunes
4. Sign out of your Apple account
5. Sign in to another Apple account or create a new one
6. Unplug your USB cord and plug it into another USB port
7. Hold down the iDevice's Home button
8. Plug the other end of the USB cord into the iDevice while continuing to hold the Home button until you see the graphic on the iDevice saying it wants to connect to iTunes.
9. Your device should now update
10. The iDevice will reboot and will show you the setup screens. It will then ask you to keep the device connected as it restarts.
11. Keep it connected and let it restore your apps, etc. Once it's done, you're done. But if it does not connect with iTunes or does not restore your apps then do the following:
12. (Only do this if the device did not connect with iTunes) Disconnect the iDevice
13. Restart your computer
14. Start iTunes
15. Sign out of your dummy account
16. Sign in with your preferred Apple ID
17. Connect your iDevice
18. Restore your apps! You're done!
diedrichg
October 12, 2011 at 1:55pm
Oh! And FYI, for the love of (insert deity here) do NOT unplug your device when it says it is restoring your apps!!! Mine was taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r to load the apps and the iPad didn't have a "wait, synching screen" and the only indication I had was the notification in iTunes. I thought this was some error and that all apps were on the device. Nope, they weren't.
Consequently, when I then went back to sync my apps from the iTunes Library I kept getting installation errors on the device!
I then had to go to the app store on the device and reinstall all the apps that weren't on there. It's a pain so be careful! Not to mention, you will lose any saved data that an app may have!
lilbuckie
October 12, 2011 at 12:39pm
Same here, after 6 attempts I turned off the Wi-Fi on my iPhone and it worked.
oyeahhhhhh
October 12, 2011 at 3:08pm
i was having same problem. after i turned off my wi-fi, it finally went through.
took a WHILE but turning off wi-fi seemed to be the fix for the problem.
lilbuckie
October 12, 2011 at 12:18pm
Has anyone ran into: "The iPhone could not be restored. An internal error." After it attempts to extract the software?
oyeahhhhhh
October 12, 2011 at 3:09pm
i was having same problem. after i turned off my wi-fi on the phone, it finally went through.
took a WHILE but turning off wi-fi seemed to be the fix for the problem.
hutchieboy
October 12, 2011 at 2:31pm
at the Genius Bar as we speak, they have had quite a few already today, no word on what the fix is
