iOS 5 Beta: 20 Existing Android Features that Could Power iPhone 5 and iPad

The general notion is that Apple innovates and everyone else copies, but the recent unveiling of iOS 5 shows a different angle altogether. With Android-powered devices selling well in the market, some of its features have been copied onto the iOS 5. The Cupertino wizards have taken bits and pieces from their competitor, applied the customary layer of fit and finish, and polished the experience to a shine. Here is a look at all the features that are going to power iPhone 5.

Notification Center:
The first feature announced by Apple during the conference was Notification Center. The users can get to notification center by just swiping the finger down from top and access the entire notifications store in one place. The Android notifications have always appeared in the top bar of their operating system. It shows time, battery state, and network state, Bluetooth and GPS, among other icons. Android also shows icons in the notification bar when there is an update about a text message, email or voicemail. In fact, the biggest advantage of having a notification bar is that notifications don't interrupt you, and the bar disappears quickly. The notifications feature has been available in Android since 2008.

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Background Updates:
The iOS 5 has a new feature known as Newsstand, where one can subscribe to magazines and newspapers and have updates downloaded in the background. But the Android OS has had background updates and sync for quite some time. The nice thing about the Android story is that the APIs for this are public.

Cloud Sync:
Cloud computing is in Google’s DNA. Google has been pushing the technological bounds of cloud computing for more than ten years. Today, feedback and usage statistics from hundreds of millions of users in the real world help them bring stress-tested innovation to business customers at an unprecedented pace. Because data in Google Apps is stored in the cloud instead of on employee computers, multiple users can access and contribute to projects simultaneously without worrying about using the same operating system, software, or browser.

Before Cloud Syncing became a reality, the users had to ensure that data was secured somewhere, like in an external hard drive, and then copy it back onto a phone's SD card. One of the biggest advantages of using cloud technology is the ability to access one's data on multiple devices.

On Android phones, when a user signs into his or her Google account, it syncs all of his or her personal data using Google's popular services. The iPhone users will have the same privilege now with “iCloud.” iOS 5 is expected to bring iCloud to users. Apple Inc. announced the launch of its cloud service at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 6, 2011. The iCloud service enables users to store data such as music files for download to iPhones, iPods, iPads and personal computers running Mac OS X or Microsoft Windows on computer servers owned by Apple.

Reminders:
The iOS 5 has Reminders, a location-based organization tool that aims to offer improved to-do lists that are compatible with iCal, Outlook and iCloud. On Android there is full multitasking, so a system level engine for reminders is not needed. Apps like Astrid or Taskos can handle this sort of functionality by themselves. The Reminders in iOS 5 are supported by geolocation feature. However, Android users are very familiar with location aware apps.

For geolocation in Android mobile phone, check out Location Alert. The app is free, intuitive and works as advertised. The app is integrated with Google Maps and you can just tap a location on the map to set a reminder around that place. You may create one-time alerts or ones that repeat on particular days.

Wireless Sync:
The iTunes content can be synced without plugging in. Now users can wirelessly sync their iOS device to their Mac or PC over a shared WiFi connection. But Android users have been living the untethered lifestyle for a good long time. Android-powered phones, with support from third-party apps, have allowed users to sync their music, movies, tasks, bookmarks and contacts wirelessly between the phone/tablet and a PC/Mac for a long time. In fact, iOS 5 wireless sync is a system-level sync option, but the difference in Android is that you can push or pull content to the device and it exists in the file system for all apps.

OTA updates:
From iOS 5 forward, 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. Considering Android, the software updates are delivered OTA and if you want to get content on your device, you don’t need to go anywhere near a USB cable. Since Android allows apps the option of accessing the SD card as mass storage, you can push files to your file system via apps like Dropbox, Awesome Drop, and Winamp.

Tabbed Browsing:
There is new tabbed browsing option in iPad to switch between WebPages. There is a “Private Browsing” option similar to Firefox and Incognito on Chrome. Also Wesbsite specific date can be deleted.