You won’t believe what Apple introduced today at WWDC11. Aside from all the other non-mobile stuff that they introduced, Apple also revealed the latest version of its popular mobile operating system, iOS 5. To some people, the new features that Apple introduced in iOS 5 might be revolutionary, but to the Android community, these are all features that we have used and enjoyed for a long time. Let’s take a look at the iOS 5 features that Android users have been enjoying for a long time:

Notifications

Apple took the great notifications system that is available on Android and implemented it on iOS 5. iPhone users will no longer get those annoying pop-ups. Instead, they’ll just have to pull down the notification pane on the top of their screen to reveal all of their notifications, just like it’s done on Android. You can thank Android for that.

Twitter integration

Twitter integration is built into Android. Simply perform the single sign-on from the account screen, and you’re in. Once you’re in, you can pretty much share almost anything via Twitter. Apple decided that this, too, was such a great feature that they are also adding it to iOS 5. You’re welcome.

Tabbed browsing

Browsing with tabs is fun. You do it, I do it, and pretty much everyone with a modern browser does it (except that one person you know who swears on the greatness of IE6). Google realized that tabbed browsing was important, so it made it available on its first Android 3.0 OS, Honeycomb, right from the start. Today, Apple announced tabbed browsing to its Safari browser on iOS 5.

Tablet keyboard:

One of the great things Android is that you are given a choice, and when it comes to keyboards, you have many choices. Tablet optimized keyboards were first introduced on the Android platform Yes, Google didn’t create a tablet optimized keyboard, but Android developers were. There’s only 1 keyboard available on iOS. That’s right, 1.

Cord-free setup:

Can you believe that when you first get your iPhone/iPad, you have to connect it to your computer to get it set up so that you can actually use it? Yup. The first thing you have to do to your brand new mobile device is tether it…just so that you can use it. Google understood that this wasn’t the way to do things. From the beginning, Android activation/setup has been done without the use of a computer or iTunes-like app. You simply turn on your phone, follow the prompts, and you’re good to go. You’re welcome, again.

I actually have a story about this. A friend of mine decided to buy an iPad on the day that he was heading on a trip overseas. At the airport, he calls me ask me how to get his iPad working because on the screen, there’s simply a animation to connect the iPad to itunes. He ended up traveling without using his iPad because he couldn’t activate his iPad at the airport. Poor soul.

OTA Software updates

Every time a new update was available for iOS, their users needed to take their MOBILE device and attach it to a computer, then they had to download the update, and install it with the use of iTunes. All that, just for an update. With Android, you simply receive a notification that an update is available, hit apply, and wait a few minutes for the phone to update and bam, you’re done. No tethering to PCs, or using bloated software. It just works without wires.

Messaging:

Apple announced iMessage today. We all know that Blackberry Messenger is the leader in mobile OS chat, but can anyone say Google Talk?

iCloud:

The things that iCloud does is simply revolutionary (not). iCloud will sync things such as your contacts, photos, books, apps, calendar, and settings to the cloud. When you sync to the cloud (via WiFi only, btw) your synced data is available on your other devices.

Android has been syncing data to the cloud for a long time. Your contacts are automatically synced; your pictures are synced (via Picasa); your apps and settings are syncs; bookmarks are synced; books are synced; and the list goes on.

We’re happy for you iOS fans out there that you’re finally going to be enjoying these features that have been available on other platforms for a long time. I wonder what the next WWDC conference will give you access too? Adobe Flash? microSD card storage? NFC payments? Maybe you’ll get a choice at a different sized iPhone to give you more choices than just black or white. What ever it is, there will be more advanced features available on Android and iOS will continue to play catch up. Yup, I said it.