How to set UIButton type?

Answer 1

Almost invariably these styles are done using bitmap images or for the more thrifty of memory, CAGradientLayer.

To do it with CAGradientLayer, you would do something very much like the way the gradient and shadows are done in this blog entry.

Answer 2

See UICatalog example -> Buttons. You will find there this kind of buttons. Usually they're done using png images for pressed & normal states. I think you can do it in IB by binding a png image to pressed & normal states, but the example in UICatalog is pretty clear and can be used "as is"

Answer 3

I've got a blog entry demonstrating how to make shiny buttons with CAGradientLayer: Shiny iPhone Buttons Without Photoshop