By Graham K. Rogers

I always hate the installation of a new iOS version: any update come to that.

After the download is complete, it starts with "Extracting software" then backing up of the phone takes place. A good idea at any time really.

When that is done, iTunes shows, "Verifying iPhone update with Apple". It must have been OK as we move on to "Preparing iPhone for software update". The phone goes off and the white apple logo appears on the screen. iTunes reports that it is "Waiting for iPhone".

Verifying updated iPhone software follows and the progress bar appears on the iPhone screen. Nothing happens initially, but the report tells me that it is Updating iPhone software. The bar begins to move, but lags slightly behind the progress indicator in iTunes.

Verifying updated iPhone software shows in iTunes when the iPhone progress bar is about halfway across the screen. It creeps. Updating iPhone firmware is shown on the Mac with the progress bar on the phone almost done.

The iPhone is restarted, disappearing from the iTunes sidebar for a few moments, and again a progress bar appears on the screen. Progress is much faster this time. In iTunes the capacity is shown without separate sections until the passkey screen appears and I enter the number.

Everything seems OK thus far, so I sync the phone. There have been several updates today, some of them quite large, so the initial sync is slow. I will have to delete some apps and move the new iPhoto app to one of the first few screens so that it is easier to get at. I have an opportunity to use this to day as I am taking photographs at a graduation ceremony.

Note that iPhoto is in a section on iTunes that shows it is for the iPhone, iPad and the iPod touch.

For the iPad, the download was similar, but I was surprised to see that the same changes were reported when the initial information was displayed, including, "Fixes an issue that occasionally caused audio to drop for outgoing calls."

With the update to GarageBand and the addition of iPhoto (I am impressed with my first looks on the iPhone and iPad), it looks as if the 64GB iPad will be on my shopping list.

See Also:
Notes on Apple Updates after The iPad Event

iOS 5.1 Update Available for the iPhone

Apple Broadcast of Yerba Buena Event now Online

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.