Some Compelling iOS 5 Features You May Have Overlooked

Steve Jobs showed off iOS 5 features at the Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this week. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

By Chris Foresman, Ars Technica

Apple only mentioned 10 of the promised 200 new features for iOS 5 during its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. The first developer preview has been released to developers, and while specifics are covered under an NDA, new details have been leaking out like oil from an ‘87 Plymouth Horizon.

We decided to round up a few of our favorite leaked features we have seen so far.

iOS 5 switches automatically from SMS to iMessage protocols. Image: Cult of Mac

Apple discussed its iMessage service, which allows sending text and multimedia messages directly from one iOS 5 device to another, including iPods and iPads. What Apple didn’t demonstrate is the seamless integration with SMS and MMS messaging on the iPhone. When you choose a recipient for a text, iOS 5 will check to see if that user also has an iPhone running iOS 5. If so, it switches automatically to use iMessage instead of SMS, and the interface switches subtly from green for SMS to blue for iMessages.

Besides ease of use, there’s another side benefit to this seamless integration: If you send messages regularly to iOS 5 users, you may be able to switch to a cheaper texting plan from your carrier. Assuming you send messages exclusively to iOS 5 users, you may one day be able to ditch a texting plan altogether.

New accessibility features include flashing the LED for alerts and setting custom vibration patterns for your contacts. Image: Engadget

Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/SNCW4OCjZVw/