Apple Releases iOS 5

iOS 5, which powers Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, is available as a free update with improved notifications system and new messaging platform called iMessage that lets iOS users text and chat with one another free of charge.

The software is also deeply tied to Apple's iCloud service, which ferries photos, applications, and settings back and forth between iOS devices, and serves as a built-in backup solution. Perhaps most important of all, iOS 5 lets iOS devices stand on their own, removing some of the ties to Apple's iTunes by letting users update their software and edit media right on the device.