Here’s a great new feature in Apple’s new mobile operating system, though you wouldn’t know it by reading iOS 5′s features list. What was a $4.99 add on app is now an easy to use Setting you can configure in just a few minutes.

On your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, go to Settings > General > Keyboard. You might need to scroll down a little and then tap Add New Shortcut.

You should be mindful to not use letter combinations that are natural word expressions, like acronyms or abbreviations.

To delete a shortcut, single-finger swipe it to the right and then tap Delete

As a blogger, I regularly type basic HTML tags. Although it’s faster to type than take my hands off the keyboard and click a button, which are absolutely tiny on the iPad, it’s now possible to create the tags even faster — sweet.

See also:
— Apple slashes refurbished iPad prices, select models
— Hands on with iOS 5 Mobile Safari
— Oregon Trail for iPad ships

So, will iOS 5′s new keyboard shortcuts kill off Smile Software’s TextExpander ($4.99)? At least in the short term, I sincerely doubt it, because TextExpander works on the iPhone, iPad and Mac, and you can sync shortcuts across devices automagically.

Yes, Apple borrowed a riff from Smile, but TextExpander has a bigger footprint and feature set…

What’s your take?

via GigaOM