Now that you’ve fully digested all that iCloud information (“MobileMe Users, Read This; Not a MobileMe User? Read This Anyway!”), it’s time for the next installment of Important Announcements from WWDC*. A fundamental lesson from the last article was that technology is made of two components, hardware and software, and that software was the focus of this year’s WWDC announcements. And with that quick refresher, onto the cool stuff.

The second piece of the presentation (iCloud was the third; I’m going backwards with the articles) was iOS 5. You’re probably wondering what iOS is. iOS stands for i-Operating System. It’s the operating system** that runs on iDevices like iPhones. There’s a new one coming in the fall, thus the 5 after iOS. It’s, as you may have deduced, the fifth major release of iOS. I bet you didn’t even notice the first four. That’s okay, that’s why I’m here: to make sure you know about it.

So, according to Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice president of iOS software, there are over 200 new features in iOS 5. However, we won’t necessarily know about all of these features until iOS5’s release because of Apple’s legendary secrecy and the non-disclosure agreement that developers must sign. But we do know about the ten announced during the presentation (plus a few more).

1. Notifications. Under the current iOS, if someone, say, texts you while you’re trying to get through a tricky level in Angry Birds, it interrupts your game and forces you to acknowledge it before letting you get back to what’s really important. If you dismiss the notification, there’s no way to get it back (and if you weren’t paying attention, you might be wondering what the heck it said). With the new system, when a notification appears, it will be much more discreet. It will come in from the top of the screen, then slide out of the way; if you were to tap on it, the appropriate app would pop up so you could address it. When you swipe down on your screen, a new Notification Center will come down with every notification from every app, all in one place. On the lock screen (or, what happens when you press the home button after you haven’t used your phone for a bit), you’ll be able to swipe across a notification to launch the appropriate app. It’s going to be leaps and bounds better than what we have now!

2. Newsstand. Imagine having every magazine and even some newspapers available to you right on your iPad. When you subscribe to a magazine, imagine having every issue automatically delivered to your iPad so that you can read it on your commute. With iOS 5, this will no longer be a figment of your imagination.

3. Twitter Integration. If you don’t know what Twitter is by now, you probably don’t care, so you can skip to the next feature. Basically, Apple has fully integrated (“baked in” is the term used by those in the tech sphere) the Twitter service into its iOS. You’ll be able to type in your username and password just once in Settings and then use Twitter throughout, like when you take a picture and want to share it immediately. You will also be able to use Twitter profile pictures as pictures for your contacts (because I know you all have so many followers in your contacts list).

4. Safari. Safari is the web browser in all iDevices and Macs. Apple revamped it (do you see a theme?) with Reader and the Reading List (among other things). The Reader is for when you’re reading a story on a website (Woman Around Town perhaps?). When you tap on the Reader button, the article will be transformed: no distractions; the font size will be adjusted so you’ll be able to see it better; and instead of having to tap on tiny links to continue reading the story, it will all be on one scrollable window. If you want to finish the story later, you could just add it to your Reading List, which is then synced to all your Reading Lists, like that on your Mac.

5. Reminders. Reminders is one of the brand new things Apple has added to iOS. It is, at its heart, a to do list on steroids. Sure, you can store multiple, different lists of things; sure, you can store dates associated with items. But did you ever imagine you would be able to store a place with to dos? The device will set up a “fence” around a geographic location of your choosing and remind you of something when you enter or leave that fence. Pretty awesome, right? Your spouse no longer has an excuse for forgetting to buy milk on his/her way home from work.

6. Camera and Photos. The Camera app got some nifty new features as well. In iOS 5, from the lock screen, you’ll be able to double click the home button (the only button on the front of the iPhone), then tap the new little camera button that pops up, and take the picture. You’ll also be able to use the volume up button (on the left side of the iPhone) as a physical shutter button. Along with some other improvements, you will also have the ability to do some simple edits (red eye removal, cropping, etc.) right from your device.

7. Mail. Another upgrade went to the Mail app, which got a couple of handy capabilities. You’ll be able to add Rich Text Formatting to your mail messages, like bold or italics. There will also be proper indents, instead of tapping the space bar a bunch of times (which I know some of you do on your computers instead of using the tab key *tsk tsk*). One more thing they added was the ability to search through all of an email, instead of just the To or From fields (you did know you could search, right?).

8. PC Free. A big new feature is the ability for your iDevices to be PC Free (in this case they mean “personal computer”). What does this mean? Well, currently, when you buy a new device, you have to connect it to your computer to set it up. In iOS 5, no more! This also means that when Apple releases a new software update in the future, you’ll be able to download it without cable-syncing with your computer.

9. Game Center. According to Apple, their Game Center (a way to play games against or with your friends and others) is used by 50 million people***. Updates in iOS 5 include comparing achievement points with your friends, adding profile pictures, seeing friends of your friends, discovering new people to play games with, and recommendations for new games to play.

10. iMessage. The last new feature introduced at WWDC is called iMessage. If you’re familiar with BBM (Blackberry Messenger), it’s a lot like that: a way to send messages, at no cost, to any user of an iOS 5 device, including iPod Touch, iPad, and iPhone. However, instead of creating a whole new app, like BBM, they just added this functionality to the old Messages app (i.e., the way you send text messages). When you go to send a message, your device will check to see if the receiver is running an iOS 5 device. If so, you will send an iMessage; if not, you will send a text. You won’t have to do anything differently.

11. Dictionary and 12. Wi-Fi Sync. A couple of other super awesome features being introduced with iOS 5 are system-wide dictionary and Wi-Fi Sync. iBooks currently comes equipped with a pretty neat dictionary, but what if you need to look up a word in an email? With iOS 5, you’ll be able to do that. And now that the iDevices are PC Free, what about syncing? That’s where Wi-Fi Sync comes in. Just plug your device in to charge it (say, at night); as long as you’re on the same Wi-Fi network as your computer, your iDevice will wirelessly and automatically sync with iTunes.

Before I conclude, I wanted to note that even though I’ve been referring to some specific iDevices in my descriptions of features, most of the features will be available to all iDevices to some degree. iOS 5 will support iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPod 3rd- and 4th-generation****.

So yeah, a whole pile of awesomeness is headed to us in the fall (and I only highlighted the tiniest smidgen). Unfortunately, we do have to wait. But nothing says we have to wait patiently.

* You may recall that WWDC stands for World Wide Developers’ Conference, the important expo that Apple hosts every June for developers, the excellent nerds who make apps for iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches, and the Mac.

** You do remember that an Operating System is the brain of technology, don’t you?

*** I personally don’t know any of them (at least, I’m not aware that I do). Also, I can be a really sore loser, so I’d rather not open that can of worms.

**** Not sure which you have? Grab your device(s) and head to your local Apple Store. The Specialists (i.e., salespeople) will be happy to help you out. Also, an important note: certain features of the new iOS may not be available to users on older iDevices, like the iPhone 3GS.