People have been majorly worked up over Apple’s announcement months ago concerning the latest version of it’s mobile operating system (iOS 5), and an all new battalion of cloud services and storage space with an email address called iCloud. Finally, both have landed. At 10 am PDT (1pm EDT) the software update to iOS 5 became available on iTunes. All you have to do to get the upgrade is plug your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch into your Mac or PC using the right cables of course, and when you see your device listed on the left hand side of the iTunes interface, click on it to select its options, and click “Check for Updates.” The software update to iOS 5 will be made available to you.
What does iCloud have to bring to the mix? Along with the hundreds of new features in iOS 5, iCloud aims to keep the Apple faithful on the bandwagon, while attracting new converts to the fold. Going on the principle of cloud computing, iCloud stores photos, songs and other files on servers in Apple’s data centers, making them instantly available to other Apple devices. For example, a photo stored on your iPhone with iCloud service would be accessible within seconds to your other Apple gadgets like the iPad, iPod and any computer (Mac or PC) with iTunes installed.
Competing with Google’s Android OS, which has slowly been edging its way into the mobile market dominated by Apple, is cited as another possible motivation for getting iOS 5 and iCloud out to the public. iCloud makes keeping files accessible much easier than any solution found on Android. It will likely make people think twice before buying other types of smart phones not equipped with iOS and iCloud.
