Apple releases iOS 5 for iPhone and iPad, time to get your download on

By now, you’re probably getting a little tired of the Apple stories, but here’s one more for those of you with iPhones and iPads: Apple has today released the latest version of its mobile operating system, which means its time to get a host of new features for your iDevice.

Ready to download now, the upgrade adds a whole bunch of new features, including a shortcut to run the camera straight from the lockscreen, notifications from various services in an easy-to-read fashion, digital magazines and newspapers, support for Apple’s iCloud online storage solution, and a new messaging system that will let you chat to friends across Apple devices.

You’ll need the latest version of iTunes (10.5) to download – a little over 100MB – but once that’s in place, you can grab iOS 5 and install it to your iPhone or iPad.

Released in the wee hours of the morning, early adopters had problems as the Apple servers struggled to keep up with demand. From what we’ve heard, most of those issues are over and users should be good to go.

If you’re eager to do it, set aside a good hour or two, as iTunes will be backing up your device, installing the update, and restoring your information.