Apple packs the iPhone with useful features that boost your productivity, provide entertainment and keep you organized throughout the day. Even if you use your iPhone daily, you may not know about some of the options and tricks hidden within the iOS operating system. These tricks improve the device's accessibility and give you new ways to work with Siri, apps, contacts and other iPhone tools.
Ask Siri to Update Facebook and Twitter
Siri knows the answer to a surprising number of questions, but if you want it to send an update to Facebook or Twitter, it refuses to help you -- until you discover the right way to ask. Siri doesn't have out-of-the-box integration with your social media accounts, but you can trick it into sending updates by adding Twitter and Facebook as contacts.
To set up Facebook, text "Hello" to 32665 (U.S. only) and complete the setup process in the iPhone's browser. Add the short code "32665" to your contact list, then name it "Facebook."
For Twitter, text "Start" to 40404 (in the U.S.). Enter your Twitter username and password to set up the service on the iPhone. When setup completes, add "40404" as a new contact named "Twitter."
To send a status update to Facebook, activate Siri and say "Send a text to Facebook" Follow this with your update, then confirm the message to have Siri post it for you. Do the same, saying "Send a text to Twitter," to send a tweet.
Siri for Text Dictation
Create a note or reminder without using the iPhone's keyboard -- Siri will take down your words for you. This handy feature works anywhere you can type a long text passage, such as in Notes. To use text dictation, tap the microphone icon next to the space bar, then start speaking. Tap the microphone again if Siri stops recording. To add punctuation and formatting to the text, speak a command, such as "new paragraph," "all caps," "comma" or "exclamation point." If you want to insert text in the middle of a line or paragraph, move the text cursor there and continue talking. When Siri makes a mistake, tap the incorrect word, then tap the microphone and say the correct one.
Siri's Location-Based Reminders
If you have trouble remembering when to go to the store or turn in a project for work, try Siri's location-based reminders feature. With this feature, Siri will remind you to complete a task when you leave or arrive at a location. For example, you can ask Siri to remind you to meet with your boss when you get to work. If you name a location that isn't in your address book, Siri asks you to add it.
Siri recognizes commands for a variety of locations, such as home, work, school or a specific store or restaurant. You can also connect a contact with a location, such as your friend's name with his address. After creating a relationship between a contact and an address, you're able to give Siri commands such as "Remind me to call home when I leave John's house."
Camera Tricks
If you've got your iPhone handy and you need to take a picture fast, you don't need to unlock it to access the camera. From the Lock Screen, double-tap the Home button to make the camera icon appear. Tap it to launch the camera.
Tap the Volume Up button instead of the onscreen shutter button to take a picture.
Use the Gridlines feature to place a grid on the iPhone's screen in the Camera app. The grid helps you line up your shots, so you won't take a crooked picture. To turn the feature on, tap "Options" and select "On" next to Grid.
Lock the focus and exposure level in the Camera app by pressing on the screen for a few seconds. When the Focus square wiggles, lift your finger. Tap the screen once to go back to dynamic Auto Exposure/Auto Focus.
Make Keyboard Shortcuts
If you regularly type text messages, emails and notes on the iPhone, you probably use some the same phrases often. To save time, you can create keyboard shortcuts. To make shortcuts, tap "Settings General Keyboard Add New Shortcut..."
In the Phrase field, type a few words or a phrase that you use repeatedly. In the Shortcut field, type the shortcut that you want to associate with the phrase. For example, if "call you right back" is your phrase, make the shortcut "cyrb." Whenever you type the shortcut, the iPhone changes it to the associated phrase.
Faster Access to Last-Saved Mail Drafts
You don't always have time to finish typing your emails, but the iPhone allows you to save drafts so you can work on them later. Normally, opening your last-saved email draft requires you to launch the Mail app, access your account, open the Drafts folder and select the desired email. But there's a much simpler way to do it: simply tap and hold the "Compose" button in the bottom-right corner of your inbox. You'll instantly go to your last-saved draft. This trick only works if you haven't restarted the iPhone since you first composed the draft.
Turn on Night-Reading Mode for Any App
The iPhone's bright screen makes it possible to read in the dark when you're sitting in a dimly lit room or riding in the car at night. When it's dark, though, reading black text on a white background can hurt and strain your eyes. Some apps have a night-reading mode, but if your favorite apps don't, you can change the iPhone's Accessibility settings for a similar effect.
To turn on night-reading mode, open the Settings menu, then tap "General Accessibility Triple-click Home Toggle White on Black." Go to any app and triple-click the Home button to invert the text and background colors. This makes white text appear on a black background. When activated, this feature will also invert the colors of images. Triple-click "Home" again to restore the normal display.
Turn the Camera Flash into a Notification Light
If you work in a noisy environment or need to silence the iPhone's ringer at school or the library, it's often hard to know when you've received a new call or text message. Thanks to the iPhone's LED camera flash, though, you don't need to keep checking for new notifications every few minutes. In iOS 5, Apple added the ability to use the camera flash as a notification light. To turn it on, go to "Settings," "General" and "Accessibility." Select "On" next to LED Flash for Alerts. Now, when you get a message or call, the LED flashes. You'll need to set the iPhone face down to see the flashing light.
Custom Vibrations for Contacts
Custom ringtones let you identify a caller without glancing at the iPhone's screen, but sometimes, you need to keep the volume down and use the vibration feature instead. The iPhone's vibration function alerts you to incoming messages, but if you keep the phone in your purse or pocket, you still need to check the screen to see who's calling. In iOS 5, you can combine the advantages of both functions and create custom vibration patterns for each of your contacts.
Tap "On" next to Custom Vibrations in the Accessibility menu. Once you've enabled the feature, go to "Settings Sounds Vibration Create New Vibration." Tap the touch screen to create a custom vibration pattern, then tap "Stop." Touch "Play" to replay the pattern, then tap "Save." Go to your Contacts list and assign the vibration to a contact in the same way you would assign a ringtone.
Recalibrate an Unresponsive Home Button
The Home button takes you back to the main screen and activates Siri, so it's probably one of the most-pressed buttons on your iPhone. Over time, the Home button may respond to your commands with increasing sluggishness or occasionally refuse to work at all. If this happens, try calibrating the Home button before you send the device to Apple for repair.
To calibrate the Home button, launch any stock app, such as Calendar or Weather. Hold down the "Power" button until you see the "Slide to Power Off" screen, then press and hold "Home" to force the iPhone to close the app. Forcing the app to shut down recalibrates the Home button and makes it more responsive.
See Your Calendar in Week View
Another hidden feature new to iOS 5 is the ability to put your calendar in week view. In the Calendar app, you are presented the option to choose a Day, List or Month view. Week view isn't among the options named, but to enable it, you need only rotate the iPhone horizontally. In week view, you can scroll backward and forward to see past and future dates or up and down to see your by-the-hour schedule.
Define Words with the Built-In Dictionary
The iPhone's built-in dictionary originally provided definitions only for words in books. Starting in iOS 5, the dictionary defines words in any app that allows text highlighting, so you can look up the meaning of a word in an email or on a Web page in Safari. To use the dictionary, tap and hold the word you want to define. The Copy and Define options appear. If you don't see Define, tap the arrow next to the popup to reveal the option. Tap "Define" to see the word's definition. This trick works for any word in the iPhone's dictionary. If you highlight a word that the dictionary doesn't know, you won't see the Define button.
