Some observations after an evening of playing with iOS 5 on my iPad 2.
You must have iTunes 10.5 beta to use iOS 5. You can't update your device without it.
The AppStore now has a "Purchased" button between "Categories" and "Updates." Selecting this allows you to view the apps that you have purchased and determine which are on your device and which are stored in the cloud. This makes it easy to move things to and from the cloud.
A "Messages" app has been added for sending free text messages via wifi. I don't know if this can send to or receive from cell phones not on a wifi connection yet, but I'll be looking into that later.
The "Reminders" app is a nice To-Do list that can store locally or in the cloud. I've already found this app to be a nice addition.
A "Newsstand" app has been added to handle your periodical subscriptions. I haven't subscribed to any periodicals so I have no idea how well this works.
Multitasking Gestures are part of the upgrade and they work well.
Stroking down at the top of the screen displays your notifications. I don't get a lot of notifications unless there is a storm in my area so I won't know how well this works until it starts raining...
The iPod icon has been replaced with a Music icon.
Operation of the device is pretty much the same as it always was.
You can choose to do your backups to the cloud if you want. Doing this disables the backup to iTunes when you connect the device to your computer - syncing still occurs, but no backup. Backing up to the cloud only transfers your app data, not the apps themselves since they are already stored in the cloud servers.
If you connect the iPad to a power connector when the screen has blanked it will attempt to backup and sync the device via wifi or the cloud. I really like this feature.
The only problem that I've encountered so far is that one of the apps that I have in development won't restore. I suspect that I've lost a provisioning profile and will need to manually restore it. Otherwise, iOS 5 seems pretty solid after my brief time with it.
Thanks for the review. I think you meant itunes 10.3 beta and not 10.5 beta.
I read about the reminders app this morning in the Daily. I am looking forward to seeing how in integrates with the To Do app I use, which syncs via toodledo.
I do subscribe to several magazines (Time and Wired, because the iPad version is free with my print subscription; The Daily, the New Yorker, and Bloomberg Businessweek. It would be really nice not to have to constantly go to the app to check for new issues.
The link for iTunes 10.3 beta is finally up on the apple site, I downloaded it this morning. itunes is exactly the same, except there is just a buttom for Purchased in the Store section. I only wish it would let me restore tv/movies I have bought in the past, but the music backup of purchases is awesome!