iOS 5 Notification Center isn't a new concept but Apple did it well

There's only so many new ideas that you can expect in the mobile space. A case in point is the Notification Center found in iOS 5. While it's something that iPhone users have been dying for, the idea is far from new.

If you're not familiar with the Notification Center, it's basically a ribbon that you pull down by swiping down on your phone. Once the ribbon is exposed you can see the latest weather, stock quotes, messages missed, and more. It's Apple's way of finally cleaning up and unifying all of those crazy alerts, reminders, and messages that would pop up on the screen, and hang around until the user dismissed them.

As I mentioned above, the concept of a Notification Center is nothing new, and most recently has been improved on over and over by Android. This time around, though, it's on an iPhone. The nice thing about Apple's implementation is how much customization it affords. For example, if you don't care about your stocks, simply go to Settings > Notifications and then shut them off. Or maybe you want to be alerted when your friends are ready to play against you with Words With Friends? Inside Notification Center you turn it on, and then decide how many items you want to show and if you want no alerts, a banner alert, or the old fashioned "in your face" alert. Speaking of Words With Friends, I'm mobijoel if you want to play.

I had a chance to play around with Notification Center for a bit and while I would have been one of those skeptical people, I have found it to be a welcome addition to the iPhone experience. It offers a smooth execution, and only enhances my time with the iPhone.

Users will have to wait a bit before enjoying the Notification Center, but so far it's worth the wait.