iOS5 is now available.  You need to upgrade iTunes first…read on for details.

iOS is now available for download.  Apple advises that you need to upgrade to iTunes 10.5 before you can update to iOS5.  Here is what Apple says about new feautures in iOS5:

Notification Center

All your alerts. All in one place.

You get all kinds of notifications on your iOS device: new email, texts, friend requests, and more. With Notification Center, you can keep track of them all in one convenient location. Just swipe down from the top of any screen to enter Notification Center. Choose which notifications you want to see. Even see a stock ticker and the current weather. New notifications appear briefly at the top of your screen, without interrupting what you’re doing. And the Lock screen displays notifications so you can act on them with just a swipe. Notification Center is the best way to stay on top of your life’s breaking news.

No more interruptions

Notifications don’t interrupt you and disappear quickly.

One-swipe access

Swipe down to reveal Notification Center.

See more at a glance

View stocks and weather, too.

iMessage

iPad and iPod touch join the conversation.

With iMessage, we’ve created a new messaging service for all iOS 5 users. You can send unlimited text messages via Wi-Fi or 3G from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch to anyone with one of those devices. iMessage is built into the Messages app, so you can send text, photos, videos, locations, and contacts. Keep everyone in the loop with group messaging. Track your messages with delivery receipts and optional read receipts, see when someone’s typing, and enjoy secure encryption for text messages. Even start a conversation on one of your iOS devices and pick up where you left off on another.

Send more than text

Send photos, videos, contacts, or locations.

See when they’re typing

Ellipsis points appear when someone’s responding.

Start here, finish there

Begin a conversation on one iOS device and pick it up on another.

Newsstand

A custom newsstand for all your subscriptions.

Read all about it. All in one place. iOS 5 organizes your magazine and newspaper app subscriptions in Newsstand: a folder that lets you access your favorite publications quickly and easily. There’s also a new place on the App Store just for newspaper and magazine subscriptions. And you can get to it straight from Newsstand. New purchases go directly to your Newsstand folder. Then, as new issues become available, Newsstand automatically updates them in the background — complete with the latest covers. It’s kind of like having the paper delivered to your front door. Only better.

All the news

Newsstand keeps your subscriptions in one place.

Read the latest

Alerts tell you when new issues arrive.

Shop for more

Tap to shop the App Store for new subscriptions.

Reminders

A better way to do to-dos.

Next time you think to yourself, “Don’t forget to…,” just pull out your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and jot it down. Reminders lets you organize your life in to-do lists — complete with due dates and locations. Say you need to remember to pick up milk during your next grocery trip. Since Reminders can be location based, you’ll get an alert as soon as you pull into the supermarket parking lot. Reminders also works with iCal, Outlook, and iCloud, so changes you make update automatically on all your devices and calendars.

See what’s next

View reminders by date.

Make a list

Reminders appear in a clean, ordered list.

Twitter

Integrated right into iOS 5.

iOS 5 makes it even easier to tweet from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Sign in once in Settings, and suddenly you can tweet directly from Safari, Photos, Camera, YouTube, or Maps. Want to mention or @reply to a friend? Contacts applies your friends’ Twitter usernames and profile pictures. So you can start typing a name and iOS 5 does the rest. You can even add a location to any tweet, no matter which app you’re tweeting from.

Single sign-on

Sign in once and tweet as you go.

Tweet from your apps

Twitter is integrated systemwide.

Add a location

Say where you’re tweeting from.

Capture the moment at a moment’s notice.

Since your iPhone is always with you, it’s often the best way to capture those unexpected moments. That’s why you’ll love the new camera features in iOS 5. You can open the Camera app right from the Lock screen. Use grid lines, pinch-to-zoom gestures, and single-tap focus and exposure locks to compose a picture on the fly. Then press the volume-up button to snap your photo in the nick of time. If you have Photo Stream enabled in iCloud, your photos automatically download to all your other devices.

Access from Lock screen

Open the Camera app with one tap.

Shutter button

Press the volume-up button to take a picture.

Photos

Enhanced photo enhancements.

Turn your snapshots into frame-worthy photos in just a few taps. Crop, rotate, enhance, and remove red-eye without leaving the Photos app. Even organize your photos in albums — right on your device. With iCloud, you can push new photos to all your iOS devices. So if you’re taking photos on your iPhone, iCloud automatically sends copies to your iPad, where you can quickly touch them up before showing them off.

Edit onscreen

Tap to enhance your photo or remove red-eye.

Crop and rotate

Adjust your photos with ease.