The whole process could eat up an hour or more, and your iOS device was stuck tethered to your computer the entire time--frustratingly immobile and unusable. Now, once iOS 5 is installed, you can download any future iOS software updates directly to the device. Just approve the update, and your phone or tablet will download and install it; no need to attach it to your computer. Your iGadget will be unusable for only a minute or two as it installs the iOS update and restarts.

iOS 5 also marks the launch of , which automatically uploads and backs up data to Apple's servers. The company intends for this service to be used with iTunes, but it's also a great way to unhook your phone or tablet from your computer without fear. iCloud automatically backs up all your book, app, and music purchases, even if you never plug the device in for a traditional backup with iTunes. If your gadget ever goes missing or has its memory wiped, you'll be able to restore most of your data by retrieving it from iCloud.

All this wireless syncing has some drawbacks, however. For starters, you can't sync your music or videos over Wi-Fi unless you have iTunes open, even with iCloud. Syncing your data wirelessly also takes much longer than the process would if you connected your gadget directly to your computer. If you're syncing only an album or two, you probably won't mind the slower speeds, but if you're regularly switching out gigabytes of music or video, syncing could take hours over a wireless connection.