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Apple will today release their new operating system, iOS 5, as well as their new iCloud storage solution.

The release date was announced at last week's Let's Talk iPhone event, which also heralded the unveiling of the iPhone 4S.

iOS 5 brings more than 200 new features to selected Apple mobile phones, such as the Notification Centre for viewing and managing alerts from a single platform - SMS messages, missed calls, calendar dates, apps and more.

There is also a new bookshelf facility, called Newsstand, which displays the covers of newspaper and magazine subscriptions more clearly in the App Store, as well as greater Twitter integration, enabling users to sign in and tweet directly from al Twitter-enabled apps.

iOS 5's most interesting addition is iMessage, which enables users ot send intstant text messages and share photos or videos with other devices running iOS, such as the iPad and iPod Touch, which is seen a way of taking on Research In Motion's BlackBerry Messenger service.

iOS 5 comes pre-installed with the iPhone 4S, and is available to download for the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad and iPad 2, as well as the 2009 and 2010 versions of the iPod Touch.

iCloud, which will work alongside the new OS, enables iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch users to access mail, contacts, calendars, photos, apps, books, music and more remotely from the cloud.

Launched in the US in June, it also features iTunes in the Cloud, meaning that any apps, songs, or videos bought on one device will become instantly available on all compatible devices, including laptops and Macs - meaning that devices will no longer be required to be plugged into a computer running iTunes.

The iPhone 4S is released on October 14.

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