iOS 5 for Moms and Dads

For starters here is why you want to read this post. Your world is likely divided into three neat little groups. These are those that don't own a smartphone, those that own an iPhone competitor smartphone (Android/BlackBerry), and then there are those that own an iPhone or are getting one this week. I recognize that this is over simplifying the point but this pretty much gets at the heart of the matter. These three groups are going to be impacted in the coming week as a result of the new iPhone 4S and/or the release of iOS 5. This post will get you ready for that release. Now I already know that some of you are thinking that this will have no impact on me. However, I will argue that you are wrong which of course I have to believe or I would not have written this post.

iOS 5 is going to impact your life if you fall into any of the three above groups. If you own an iPhone then your operating system is about to change for the better. If you encounter those that don't own and don't like the iPhone you are going to have to listen to them tell you this week why their device of choice is so much better than the current and new iPhone, and finally since you are likely to talk with people this week this will serve as a grown up primer for the iPhone part of the discussion (and trust me on this you will be somewhere in the next week where someone will either show you how they can talk to their new phone, or you will observe/overhear a discussion about all the new reasons to own an iPhone).

So what follows is what you need to know. First the new iOS is a radical leap for an already radical device. You care about this because it is about to change yet again the way we work and live with mobile devices. This new operating system (save this term to be used sparingly at a party this weekend) brings real voice commands to mobile devices in a way that will seem very futuristic. Or alternatively it will make texting and walking/driving seem like so last week. Your phone is about to become really smart through a software application called Siri (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are much smarter than we all knew). Additionally, the iPhone will now have location based reminder capability. This means that it will know when you are near the grocery store and it will remind you that you need to buy soy milk and tofu (or Oreos if that is more your style). Your calendar is about to become more intuitive, and you will have the exclusive ability to send iMessages to other iPhone users without paying for text messaging (this is bigger than you think given that wireless carriers charge us more for text messages than any other form of data) and this will put pressure on reducing texting fees I hope. Then there is iCloud which will revolutionize device synchronization for those of us that don't work in a corporate office. Add to these improved notifications, draggable email addresses, keyboard shortcuts and computer free updating and you have a whole new bag of tricks.

This likely all sounds very "techie" and I am sure that there are those that are reading this (mostly family friends) that are saying "so what?" So here is the big idea. You don't want to listen all night to that really boring person at your next social gathering talking about how really cool he is with his new phone. You want to be able to shut down that conversation and move on to more relevant and popular topics like Chaz Bono's chances on Dancing with the Stars. So I will equip you with the What and So What of the new iPhone operating system and arm you with the right sounding pithy responses.

Let's start with Siri. Siri is not a new innovation. The application that preceded this was available for iPhone users earlier in the year. What makes this version radical is that it will allow you to use normal voice commands to search and to complete various telephone functions. This will make devices easier to use, more accessible for the elderly and disabled, and is flat out cool. Your party answer to this one is "the technology is not really new, though while very cool it will likely not change telephone users habits in the near term unless we actually begin to use mobile devices in quiet locations where talking to your telephone will not really seem weird." This will surely switch the conversation.

Location Based Reminders. This function is a really significant productivity booster. The backbone of any productivity system is to have a way to keep track of all of the things you need to do. Reminders on the iPhone will give you a place to keep track of all of these things. The added bonus is that now your phone will not only hold your list but it will also know when is the best time to remind you of the items on the list. Think of it like your significant other yelling to you as you go out the door "remember to pick up milk and cookies while you are out" except that this will be more gentle and remind you when you really are near the store. Now that you know this you will sound profound when you say "I am encouraged that smartphones are utilizing the gps capability to do more than check-in on Foursquare."

iMessage is a feature that BlackBerry users have had in a variety of forms for a number of years. This is not so radical except that now the users of the number one selling device will have it too. This feature more likely will serve as yet another nail in RIM's (the maker of the BlackBerry) coffin giving both corporate users and consumers another reason to move to the iPhone.

Keyboard shortcuts is another feature that was available to BlackBerry users for a long time even though most never knew that the feature existed (here you might say that this feature while not new is becoming widely known to the less technical among us and will serve to boost their productivity). Imagine typing OMG on your phone and having the phone convert that to Oh My God. It seems that you will be able to create a series of messages and perhaps even lines of text with just a few key strokes. This will be most useful for messages you send frequently or for those customized responses you will want to create like "Go Away. If I actually wanted to talk to you I would answer the phone." Sorry I just had to get that off my chest.

Notifications are a vast improvement but I am not sure that they will make you more productive. The iPhone will now have options for special sounds and alerts for different types of notifications. This will include everything from email alerts to alarms and reminders. The useful feature here is that notifications will not necessarily distract you when you are using the phone, but my fear is that all the new notifications will actually distract you more when you are not using the phone. You will want to wait and see on this one. Still, here is how you can retort when someone talks about the virtues of notifications "the statistics tell us that we receive an electronic interruption of some kind roughly every eleven minutes. I can't imagine how increasing the probability of receiving even more of these distractions could be deemed to be helpful or productive but then again I am not very technical about these things."

Finally, we have iCloud. This is a significant event. You will now have the ability to have all of your important things in all of your important places. Cloud synchronization will allow non-corporate users to have wireless synchronization of information from your calendar, to your notes, to your tasks. It will be like having the information on the family refrigerator available to everyone no matter where they are located. This will dramatically reduce the chance that you and those closest to you will not be able to stay up to date with the family schedule. It will allow you to put an appointment on your iPhone and have it immediately show up on your laptop or iPad. This is not just cool. Synchronization of information is the key to maintaining your productivity as it moves information as you move. On this one just look up to the heavens when you here someone talk about this and simply raise your hands and say "thank you Steve, I knew you were a genius."

There you have it. You now know in a far less technical way what all of these new iPhone features are about. More importantly, you now have a way to shut down the boring snob that wants to appear to be eloquent about their brand new iPhone. The people at your next social gathering will thank you for turning the conversation to those things we all care about. So how is Chaz really going to win?