Upgrading to iPhone iOS 5 and migration issues

My upgrade was from the 3gs to 4s iPhone. The driving reasons were: better screen resolution, improved features, faster processor, wifi-based backup and software upgrades, FaceTime and iMessage, and better network in my area by switching from AT&T to Verizon. Another unexpected plus was the trade-in value of my 3gs. Totem was my choice and they gave me $137 via an easy shipping process and PayPal payment.

The nays against were starting another 2 year contract, reported battery loss issues with the 4s, and loss of simultaneous voice and data when using Verizon's CDMA network protocol. The battery loss issues were fixed in Apple's subsequent iOS 5.0.1 release. CDMA or GSM? Cellular network protocols was another way to look at the AT&T or Verizon question. Turns out that the simultaneous voice and data issue with CDMA was mostly a non-issue because you CAN use simultaneous voice and wifi. I'm primarily a wifi user because 802.11g is roughly 6 times faster than 3G. But I did have to give up this capability when using Verizon cellular data.

• AT&T or Verizon?  Switching from AT&T was hard as a past employee of Bell Labs and a long time customer. I also believe that AT&T is on the right trendsetting roads regarding future technology directions and 4G LTE rollouts as described at their presentations at CES and other industry conferences. Their GSM cellular protocol permits simultaneous voice and data AND can be used worldwide. Objectively though it seems that Verizon right now has the better network in the west coast region especially Ventura county. This assessment is based on anecdotal reports of signal strength and user experience of call quality. I've heard the same is true in the Denver, Colorado area. Conclusion: AT&T may be mostly focused on eastern and southern USA region, international, and large city targets whereas Verizon places more emphasis on the western region USA.
• Migration Issues for Apps and Data?  Apple leaves a lot to be desired in this area. I was unexpectedly hit with serious migration issues of apps and data. You would think that a company that prides itself on user interface liquidity would smooth the transitions in upgrading from an older iPhone to a new iPhone. I could design a better migration method for users. It should be as simple as doing a backup of your older iPhone and then a seamless apps environment restore which upgrades the iOS in the process. But no, I had to do a one-by-one app restore as well as recreate my app screen layouts and folders -- totally unacceptable with today's technology. Did Apple really just slop this process together? And where pray tell in iOS 5 is the easy method to turn on/off Bluetooth? Do they really want to cause users to fumble through their settings : general : Bluetooth menus when getting ready to drive with their wireless headset? And why don't News push alerts work after upgrading? Is there really an UDID transfer problem when doing an apps restore from an older iOS? Come on Apple. Where's the quality control and systems test?