Using iOS, how would I go about creating a red "delete" button similar to the one used when deleting contacts on the iPhone?
You first start with a stretchable image:
Then you make a button with the stretched image as the background and apply text.
UIButton *sampleButton = [UIButton buttonWithType:UIButtonTypeCustom];
[sampleButton setFrame:CGRectMake(kLeftMargin, 10, self.view.bounds.size.width - kLeftMargin - kRightMargin, 52)];
[sampleButton setTitle:@"Button Title" forState:UIControlStateNormal];
[sampleButton setFont:[UIFont boldSystemFontOfSize:20]];
[sampleButton setBackgroundImage:[[UIImage imageNamed:@"redButton.png"] stretchableImageWithLeftCapWidth:10.0 topCapHeight:0.0] forState:UIControlStateNormal];
[sampleButton addTarget:self action:@selector(buttonPressed) forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];
[self.view addSubview:sampleButton];
Obviously, you will need to adjust the frame origin and size to match your app, as well as the target, selector, and title.