• Notification Center

I’m certainly not alone thinking that the current iOS notification system is already very outdated.  It really gets in the way when using the iPhone or iPad.  The new notification is going to be a huge improvement both from an in use perspective but also from the lock screen having each notification listed and allowing you to go directly from lock screen to responding to the notification with one swipe.

• Camera

The current camera in the iPhone is good, but it could be so much better.  The fact that I have to unlock the phone, click on the camera app, wait for it to load then take a picture can be to late when trying to capture a moment.  The ability to get directly to the camera app from the lock screen is going to make taking pictures so much better with the iPhone.  I’d love to see that button be set to third party camera apps if I want but I won’t hold my breath.

• AirPlay Mirroring for iPad 2

This is definitely a luxury feature but one I’m excited about non the less.  Having my screen mirrored on my big screen tv to be able to easily show off pictures, play movies or just do a presentation will be very cool.

• Wi-Fi Sync

Backing up my phone and getting the latest updates all while not having to plug it into my computer definitly puts this feature on my top five.

• Split Keyboard for the iPad

This may seem strange to have on my top 5 list of iOS 5 features but typing on the iPad is a struggle.  I like to use my thumbs to type, much like I do with the iPhone, so having the split keyboard is going to be awesome.

That is my top 5 iOS 5 features.  What are you most looking forward to with the new update?

The new iPad 2 will be released with lots of new advances some predicted and some not…

• 33% thinner and 15% lighter
• Dual Core A5 Chip (which means it’s much faster)
• Two cameras (including facetime and photobooth)
• 10 hour battery life
• Same price as the original iPad
• HDMI video out

The iPad 2 will also be released with iOS 4.3 that includes AirPlay Enhancements, Safari Performance Improvements (which includes Nitro Javascript Engine), iTunes Home Sharing (which means you can access your entire iTunes library over WIFI and play music, movies and TV even if it’s not loaded on the device), iPad Switch Customization (choose to use the switch on the side of the iPad for “Mute” or “Screen Rotation”) and Personal Hotspot for the iPhone 4.

For an extra $39 or $69 you can also get an iPad cover or “Smart Cover” that was specifically designed along with the iPad.  It connects to the iPad using magnet when placed over the screen it will put the iPad to sleep, take it off and the iPad wakes up.

Rumors state the new iPad 2 will have at least 1 camera (most are hoping for two), some additional ram, a slightly slimmer body style and better resolution.  The resolution debate at this point is still stating higher resolution but maybe not the retina display.

All this should be answered in San Francisco at the Yerba Buena on March 2nd.

So far we are not seeing an major issues with the pre order process from either Verizon or Apple, but the day is till young.

Good luck and we want to offically welcome a whole new group of readers from new iPhone users on Verizon.  Glad to have you on board

The pricing for the Verizon iPhone will be $199 for the 16GB, $299 for 32GB.

There will be no changes to the design of the iPhone for Verizon except a different antenna because of the network changes.  It will also be a 3G phone not a 4G as earlier speculated.

Thanks it for now folks, Verizon officially will be selling the iPhone next month.

BGR has confirmed with a source close to Apple that the company has blacked out employee vacation requests between February 3rd and February 6th — Thursday through Sunday. The four-day vacation freeze has been confirmed to be in effect in several regions in the United States. A recent report suggested the vacation black-out would cover a period of three weeks beginning in late January and extending into February, which still could be true in some regions.

Only time will tell if these rumors are true but this sure would make early 2011 very interesting.

You can enter the the drawing four times if you:

• retweet this twitter message.
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Good luck and make sure to read the official contest rules on Graveck’s website.