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Get more done in less time with these 

simple finger gestures for iPad.

In previous blog posts, 

Sync has offered Windows

-based keyboard shortcuts

 that can help speed up basic

 tasks on your computer – 

such as Windows 7 tips 

hereor more generic ones here – but those who prefer to use an iPad shouldn’t feel left out of the fun.

And so those who own an Apple tablet can take advantage of simple finger-based gestures to get more done in less time – and give your home button a break.

It doesn’t matter which of the three iPad models you own, but be sure to have the latest iOS 5 software update installed to use these gestures.

You don’t need to enable these following gestures, but if they’re not working and you do have the latest software installed, check to make sure they’re not disabled accidentally (Settings>General>Multitasking Gestures).

Here are three to try:

Close an app fast

If you’re inside of an app and want to close it quickly, simply place four or five fingertips on your iPad screen and pinch inwards. Bringing your outstretched fingers together will back you out to the home screen.

Cycle through open apps

This one’s my favourite. If you’ve got a few apps open – such as a game, music and live sports score app – you can quickly view all open apps by swiping your four or five fingers left or right on the screen. This instantly switches to other open programs.

Access multitasking bar

Whether you’re on the home screen or inside of an open app, place four or five fingers on the screen and swipe upwards and you’ll see up to six open apps on the bottom of your iPad display. Because they’re just the icon, you can tap to open or close apps at any time (or swipe to the right to lock the screen orientation or adjust screen brightness or audio volume.

Finally, while it’s not a multi-finger gesture, remember you can swipe one finger down from the top of the iPad (start where the camera lens is) and you’ll open up the Notifications center to read messages, alerts, calendar entries, and other information. Swipe up to close it again.