New iPad keyboard features with IOS 5
Apple has added several new features to the iPad keyboard with iOS 5. One of the main improvements is the ability to split or undock the keyboard. By holding on the bottom right key, you will get the new options to split or undock the keyboard.
Once the keyboard is split or undocked you can move it anywhere on the screen by holding your finger on the bottom right key and sliding it up and down the screen.
To put the keyboard back, hold the bottom right key again and tap Dock and Merge.
Emoji Keyboard
There’s also a Emoji keyboard added with iOS 5. To use the Emoji keyboard you will need to go to Settings> General> Keyboard> International Keyboards> Add New Keyboard and select Emoji.
Now you will see a new key added to the left of the space bar (it’s in the images above).
The image below shows what the Emoji keyboard looks like. After you have found and selected your image just tap the key on the bottom left to return the main keyboard.
There are hundreds of Emoji images that can be added to texts, iMessage, notes, emails, etc. Here is a sample of the Emoji icons available on the iPad keyboard.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Another nice feature added to the keyboard with iOS 5 is Shortcuts. To add a shortcut go to Settings> General> Keyboard> Add New Shortcut. Now you can add add a phrase and the shortcut.
When you type the shortcut and hit the spacebar your phase will be added automatically. This can be a time saver when using iMessage, emails, notes or todo lists, etc.