DELETING LETTERS WHILE TYPING

Learn to use the insertion point. Put the little magnifying glass where you need to correct and make your corrections. It's not just for cut and paste.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/how-to/#basics.editing

if it's a short word to fix, I usually just double tap it, which selects it, then type it again since typing at that point replaces the selected text. For a longer word, I just find the place just after the typo and backspace it. I'm not sure I understand how a typo could "require" both a backspace and a delete, though, since you can always place the insertion point after the typo. Can you give an example?

Hey Eddie,

I'm from Bryn Mawr, not too far from you....

Anyway, I see what you mean. For something like that I find I'm faster just double tapping and then writing all set again. Still, I wonder if it would be a good idea to have a setting where if you hold the backspace key down for a moment it turns into a delete forward key. Just a thought.

The only other option is to delete the entire e-mail by shaking the phone, etc.

You can scroll with magnified view right to the letter you want to delete, so what difference does it make which way you move the cursor. Dad always had a saying, something to do with a new rope.