Apple has announced the iOS 5, the company’s next-generation mobile operating system, as well as the iCloud service, at its “Let’s Talk iPhone” media event Tuesday.
Apple’s Senior Vice President of iPhone software Scott Forstall has made the announcement at its press event today. Forstall said that the new operating system will be available as a free update on October 12.
The company now has 500,000 apps in its App Store, more than 140,000 of which are for the iPad tablet. According to Forstall, in three years, users have downloaded around 18 billion apps and that the company has paid $3 billion to developers. He also said that the new release has more than 200 new features to offer.
The Apple SVP showed off a new app, which is known as “Cards,” that lets users create cards using their devices. He said that Apple will do the rest, including the printing, embossing and mailing of the said cards. The service will also be available on October 12.
One of the new features of the iOS 5 is the iMessage, which is the company’s new messaging feature that enables iOS users to communicate over Wi-Fi or 3G with any iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Another one is the Twitter Integration, where Forstall said, “We have integrated Twitter deeply into the OS. We have integrated Twitter into many of the built-in apps.” Users will only have to log in to the service once for it to be used.
Some of the key features of the new iOS 5 are Reminders, Newsstand, Camera, Game Center, Wi-Fi Sync, Mail and Calendar.
via: Gigaom
