iOS 5 Features: Is it Just Me, or is Android in the Drivers Seat?

The post that prompted this (http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ios_5_explained_the_new_features_the_implications.php) starts out by asking how iOS 5 will stack up against Android. I don't know whether that is just biased thinking at RWW, or whether it reflects a more deeply held belief on their part or on the part of a wider community.

But then I looked at the features in iOS5 that are listed here. First off: notifications. No more little black pop-ups notifying you of messages. From now on, a single notification center, which you pull down from the top of the screen. Does that sound familiar? How about this: notifications don't jump into other apps, they just appear across the top of the screen briefly and then reside in the notification center.

Next: elimination of iTunes. Not that they are formally killing it, but you will no longer have to use it to activate or even synch your iOS devices. This is one huge advantage Android has at the moment, though there are surely more than a few who are happy to sacrifice some independence for the simplicity of having iTunes take care of things for you.

But even these do not need to worry, the new iCloud feature will take care of them by auto-synching files from cloud storage to all their devices. I may have seen this the other day. I had downloaded a movie onto my iPad and when I connected to iTunes later without connecting the iPad, I saw the movie downloading onto my PC.

Apple is fighting back, continuing to bring out new features, working hard to keep market share. Will it work?