iOS 5.1: Top 5 Features Explained

iOS 5.1 is the latest version of iOS for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. However, it is not a major upgrade so for those hoping to see a lot flashy things, keep your hopes on the down low. Still, even though being a small update, the new version of iOS, which will makes its debut on the New iPad, will come with a few cool features we found to be worth mentioning.

Toggle on and off 3G Data

This feature is not exactly new. It was a part of iOS for a long time until Apple removed it in the iOS 5.0 upgrade for reasons unknown. Happily, the feature makes a return, but it only seems to work for 3G and not 4G. Hopefully Apple will release a fix soon enough to sort out this problem. Toggling 3G on and off is all good and dandy, but 4G uses more battery life, and thus one should be able to toggle off on the fly.

New Camera Lock

Taking photos with your iPhone is now easier to accomplish. No longer will you miss those magical moments just because it took too long to gain access to the camera. Now, you can access your camera from the lock screen without having to enter passwords, just simply tab the camera button and you’re in and ready to shoot.

Hey look, my iPhone 4S is 4G capable

We love this one. No, seriously we do. iPhone 4S supports HSPA+, this is what networks like T-Mobile and AT&T dubs as being 4G, when it really isn’t. When the iPhone 4S first came out, Apple didn’t market it as a 4G device, nor did the carriers. It was strictly 3G and nothing else. With the iOS 5.1 update, your iPhone 4S will magically transform into a 4G supported smartphone, and users everywhere are buying this, and even claim to see faster speeds. The 3G icon on the iPhone 4S will disappear to make way for 4G. If this isn’t an excellent marketing strategy, then we are from another planet.

Siri went to school, came back speaking Japanese.

Siri, our favorite little robot human like thing, is multilingual, but who would have thought she could master Japanese so quickly. With the Japanese language under her belt, Siri now knows four languages, English (U.S., UK, Australia), German, French, and Japanese.

Battery life improvements are always welcome

The previous iOS version brought along with it bugs that affected battery life. Now that has been fixed with iOS 5.1. Solid features in smartphones and tablets are all fine, but if a good battery life is not present, those features won’t have a chance to shine. We applaud Apple on always realizing that smartphones and tablets are mobile devices, and not a home computer.

(Reported by Vamien McKalin, edited by Surojit Chatterjee)

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