Notification Center

New to iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and iOS 5 and wondering how to configure Notification Center so you get the alerts you need but not the interruptions you don't? Luckily, you can choose between 3 different alert styles, from in-your-face popups to subtle banners to none at all. Follow along and we'll show you how!

According to a 9to5Mac tipster, iOS 5 in Japan will include notifications from Japan's earthquake early warning system. It ties into iOS 5's Notification Center, and can be enabled and disabled just like any Notification Center section in Settings. Because it stays connected to Japan's nationwide online monitoring network, it will most likely lower battery life slightly, but given the importance of the system, that's likely a tradeoff anyone enabling it will be more than willing to make.

No word yet on whether any other earthquake-prone, or natural disaster-prone areas with early warning systems of their own will be able to likewise tie into Notification Center, though App Store apps can fill that gap where and as needed.

There have been some significant UI changes to Notification Center in iOS 5 beta 2, specifically, the way notifications are handled on the Lock Screen. In beta 1, notifications would simply appear as line items, with new notifications stacking as new line items, one after the other. In beta 2, if a single notification comes in, it now gets its own, newly styled popup.