*SENDING CALLS TO VOICE MAIL*

When the iPhone is unlocked and you have an incoming call, you see the red Decline and the green Accept button on the screen.

However, if the screen is locked because you are not using the phone at the moment, you just the ''slide to answer'' control.

While the lack of a Decline button on the lock screen maybe an effort to stop accidental hang-ups when you are fumbling around with a ringing phone, Apple has included a few ways to dump a caller to voice mail quickly without having to unlock the phone.

When the screen is locked and an unwanted call comes in, you can decline to answer and punt it to voice mail by quickly pressing the Sleep/Wake button twice; its location, on the top or side of the phone, varies depending on your model.

If you are listening to music through your earbuds when a call comes in, press and hold the center button on the cord's volume control.

When you hear two beeps the call has been declined and sent to voice mail.

[You can have the phone announce calls through your earbuds or the car dashboard by opening the Settings app, tapping Phone and then selecting Announce Calls.]

Some carriers may disconnect declined calls instead of sending them to voice mail. If you want to silence the ringer until voice mail takes over, press the Sleep/Wake or the volume button once to mute the ringer for that call.

The iPhone's incoming-call screen also includes buttons for other actions. The Remind Me button let's you set up a reminder to call the person back, and the Message button sends a prewritten text message to the caller.

You can set up a custom message in the Respond With Text area in the Phone Settings.

!WOW! thanks The New York Times.