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Let me start by saying that I don't have an iPhone. My smartphone is a member of the Android family. However, I do have an iPad 2 and discovered that it can do a few things that I was unaware of.

While a majority of these tips and tricks are exclusive to the iPhone, there are few that do translate to the iPad. Specifically when it comes to anything involving the home screen. While most of these suggestions will work with any version of the iPhone, you need to have upgraded to the latest operating software (iOS 5.1). Now, without further adieu, let's see what this thing is capable of.

Take picture using your headphone cord

A recent upgrade gives users the ability to use the volume control buttons as an additional option to take a picture in an effort to help eliminate shaking the phone while trying to press the button on the home screen. The ability to use the headphone cord takes that one step further. Once you have everything set and the camera is steady, simply press the button on your headphone cord and "click", you've taken a picture without trying to pull of that awkward finger stretch.

Dry out a wet iPhone

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After dropping your phone in water, DO NOT turn it on! Doing so could short-circuit the device. It also not a good idea to try using a hairdryer as it can push the water into cracks and crevices in the phone making the situation worse. Simply use uncooked white rice and some type of sealed container such as a plastic storage container or large ziplock bag, bury your iPhone in the rice and let it sit overnight. The rice soaks up the moisture leaving your phone working just as it did before. I can tell you from experience this works with any phone. A few years ago my wife dropped her old phone in some water and tried this trick after reading about it on the internet. We were both pretty shocked the next morning when she popped the battery back in and the phone turned on with no issues.

Location based reminders

This is only available with iPhone's that are equipped with "Siri". Honestly, this one seems a bit "Big Brother is watching" to me, but a cool concept nonetheless. As you may or may not know, you can ask Siri to remind you about something at a specific time. For example, if you need to dial in to a conference call at 2pm, you can ask Siri to remind you at 1:55 to call in. What you can also do, using the iPhone's built in location tracker, is have her remind you to do something after you leave a certain place or once you arrive at one. Let's say you go to the movies and you want to it to remind you to call your mom when you get home. When you finally do get home, even if you run a few errands after the movie, Siri will remind you that you need to call your mother.

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Make customized ringtones

 

This is something I like to do with my phone, but in order to do it, I have to use a sound editing program here at the station, plug my phone into my computer and transfer the file to my ringtone folder. With the iPhone, you simply download the free Ringtone Maker app and make a ringtone from a clip of any song in your iTunes library. Meaning you can finally make that "I'm Too Sexy" tone you've been hesitant to pay for.

Delete e-mails en masse

Instead of going through each and every e-mail and deleting it individually, open your Inbox and click "Edit". This will give you the option of checking off the e-mails you no longer need, want, or don't want anyone else to find and deleting all of them at by hitting "Delete" once.

These are just a few of the fancy shortcuts and tricks your iPhone can do that will make life a little easier. You can find all 25 at Yahoo! Shopping.

[Source: Yahoo! Shopping]

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