iPhone 4S Timeline, Tricks and Tips

When iPhone 4S went on sale Oct. 14, Apple stores braced for huge crowds, and Steve Wozniack even camped out overnight to be first in line to get one. Just two days before that, Apple Inc. faced bogged down servers due to the overwhelming number of people trying to update their devices to the new iOS 5. The early rush to upgrade resulted in glitches like hour-long waits and cancelled updates.

Now that the rush is over to get iOS 5 and iPhone 4S, here's a few features you might enjoy exploring and discovering. Siri, is among the winning features of the new iPhone 4S, but there's other software enhancements and a sprinkling of new features that could help iPhone 4S keep Apple's standing in the growing smartphone competition.

AirPlay Mirroring

AirPlay now supports video mirroring, which can wirelessly stream whatever is on the iPad 2 or iPhone 4S to HDTV via Apple TV. Even if the device is rotated from portrait to landscape or zoom in and out, it could be visible via Apple TV.

Make Alerts Using Vibrations That You Create

If you're in a situation where you don't want to interrupt, you can make a signature vibration to warn you of a message you've been waiting for. Simply go to Contacts, choose a contact and hit Edit. Then go to Vibration, then Create New Vibration.

Setup Assistant

With this feature, users can setup, activate and configure their device. It even gives a choice to the user either to enable or disable the feature as part of the setup process. The user needs to decide whether or not to enable location services before the setup assistant continues. The user can always enable or disable location services from the Settings app.

Better Security

There's improved privacy features in Safari and iMessage, so you can surf privately and make sure people who send you messages don't know if you've read them. For Safari, go to the settings menu and you can turn on Private Browsing. After that, Safari will stop building a history of your surfing. In the iMessage app, you can decide if you want to allow Read Receipts that tells your friends if you've read their messages. To turn off, go to Settings and then Messages, and set Send Read Receipts to off.

OTA Updates

For the Over-The-Air (OTA) Updates, there is no need for a computer and cord. The iOS 5 devices can now self-update the system software right on the device itself through Wi-Fi or 3G. Users don't have to download and install entire OS as delta software updates are enabled.

MUST READ: Apple iPhone 4S Hits the Shelves: Top Ten Reasons You Should Grab One This Weekend (PHOTOS)