i updated my phone and now I can't get the actual phone to work. I can't even get to my contact list. I can not do anything but use the the apps and stuff. I can't even get the phone to dail out. The screen just stays the way it is. Dead. What now?
Try resetting your iPhone:
Press and hold Home and Power button until you see the Apple logo. Let go of both, your device will power up on it's own. See if this solves your problem.
If you updated your iPhone over the air (Settings - General - Software Update on your device), try restoring it using iTunes on a computer.
Make sure there's a recent backup to restore from.
After restoring via iTunes, reset your iPhone once more, using the method above.