14 DAY TRIAL // The iPhone has received a lot of praise over its interface and multi-touch input method. Not only is it very advanced when compared to the interfaces of other similar devices, but it is also incredibly intuitive and natural. Apple has obviously spent a great deal of time developing and refining it and adding all sorts of little touches, the only downside is that they haven't documented all those little things that will make your life easier.
Many of those that have been using the iPhone since the launch have complained about how it is difficult to actually get punctuation into the text you are typing, because it requires so many steps. While this might seem to be the case, there is actually a little shortcut that makes it much easier, only it is not that well known.
Because the iPhone has the letters and punctuation on two different layouts that you need to alternate between, getting a simple period or a comma would require you to change the layout, hit the right key and then change the layout back again. The trick here is that the Shift and punctuation keys register the input when the finger presses down, instead of one release. Thus, you can press the ".?123" key and while still holding your finger down, slide across to the punctuation key that automatically appears on the new layout. When you release, not only will the character be inserted, but the keyboard will automatically revert to the letters one that you were previously using and that you would be using next.
This sort of thing might sound silly, but it is actually a huge saving in time and number of touches needed. Another similar hidden feature is the ability to hit the top bar in Safari to automatically bring you back to the top of a very long page, instead of actually flicking through the entire thing. While these little secret features are not exactly hidden, they are not very well documented by Apple's manuals, which is a bit of a shame since they do make a big difference.