"you have to down load a app to turn off lte"
You don't have to download an app. You can do it manually by punching in several numbers into the dialer. But downloading the app is easier. I agree that this is definitely a loss with the update.
"no contacts in the phone app. you have to click on the people app to call contacts."
Just hit the search button when you have the phone app open, and it will go straight to your contacts. It's just like having a button for the contacts in the phone app. Also, you could just always open the People app first instead, because it does have a button at the bottom for the phone. So, you can do it both ways.
"you have to click each notification to clear it. no more clear notifications."
Not true. When you have a notification (or several), pull down your notification bar and look at the top right corner. You'll see a X. Hit that, and all of your notifications will clear.
"no more hide apps."
Not true either. You can do this a couple ways. The first way is to actually disable the app. This not only hides it, but it also completely freezes it and prevents it from running. Just long press the app you want to hide/disable, drag it to the top of the screen where it says "More options," tap app info, and then at the top right you'll have a box with one of two choices. The box might say "disable." If it does, tap that, and the app will be frozen and hidden. It might also say "uninstall updates." If it says that, tap it, and after it finishes, the box will now say "disable."
The other way to hide apps is to make your own custom app drawer. Open the app drawer and tap on the top right corner where it says "All Apps." From there, you can choose to only see apps you've downloaded, frequently used apps, or you can create your own group that hides any apps you want hidden.
"notifications are so small you cant read them"
That's going to differ from person to person. I have no problem with the size of the notifications, but I have seen several people say they're too small for them as well.
So, in the end, pretty much all of the things you list as a con because they're missing are actually there. Most people think there's a lot missing in ICS from Gingerbread, when in fact, it's just in a different place. As far as going back to Gingerbread, I don't think that's an option at this point. Just give ICS some time, and once you learn where everything is and how it works, I'm sure you'll start to see past the changes and appreciate the improvements.
