Apple's new iOS 5 borrows some of the best Android features

While Apple's upcoming iCloud service captured most of the attention at Steve Jobs' presentation yesterday, the company also unveiled a host of other changes that will arrive via its new iOS 5 mobile operating system, which will be available later in the year for Apple iPads, newer iPhones, and touches.

Many of the features are adaptations of ones that have distinguished other mobile operating systems, notably Android. Here's a rundown of iOS 5's highlights:

Notifications. The new Notification Center allows you to preview new e-mails, calendar appointments, and text messages, even when the phone screen is locked, to save you the hassle of unlocking the phone for every alert. Another neat feature, borrowed from Android, is that alerts show up unobtrusively in a bar at the top of the screen while you're engaged with another application. You can pull that bar down in window-shade fashion (again, very much like on Android phones) to get the details.

Twitter. Twitter is now built into the iPhone, particularly for apps such as Camera and Photos. Tapping on Tweet produces the "Tweet Sheet," which allows you to share content from directly from Safari, YouTube, and Maps.

Reminders. You can create lists of things and assign reminders for them according to dates and to your GPS location: For example, you can set up your device to alert you to buy toothpaste and shampoo when you pass a particular drugstore.

Messaging. iPhone messaging will now be extended to all iOS devices and offers several enhancements, such as being able to send a photo or video by just tapping the camera icon and picking the content you want to message. You can also send group messages and get delivery receipts, read receipts, and real-time typing notification, as on Facebook.

E-mail. Rich-text formatting (bold, italics, and underline) and indentation control will be available in e-mail. You'll be able to drag addresses from one field to another, flag read messages as unread, and search the entire contents of messages. A new Define feature looks up the meaning of unknown words when you tap on them. On an iPad's larger screen, you will also be able to grab the virtual keyboard with your fingers and split it so you can view the content behind it.

Contacts. Contacts will now integrate data from a variety of sources, as has been the case on Android, webOS, and Windows Phone devices.

Safari. The new Safari Reading List app for iOS 5, very much like the Read It Later app available on most smart-phone platforms, lets you easily save articles and "keeps your place" across multiple devices—as does Whispersync on the Amazon Kindle e-book reader. In addition, Safari now has tabbed browsing to facilitate faster, easier jumps from one page to another.

Camera. If you have a pass-code set, you can snap a picture without entering it, as you can on Windows Phone 7 devices. Other conveniences include being able to use the physical volume button to snap pictures, as an alternative to using the virtual on-screen shutter button. Best of all, you can now crop, rotate, fix red-eye, and perform other edits directly on the device without having to download an additional app.

Game Center. Taking a page from Facebook, the Game Center will now show you what your friends' friends are doing while providing game recommendations based on their activities and habits.

Bottom line: By borrowing some of the best from competitors, Apple's iOS 5 emphasizes the company's need to play catch-up with other operating systems, especially Android. It also underlines that no one company or approach can dominate innovation in the interface and other aspects of mobile computing, which is a good thing for consumers.

—Mike Gikas