Bulk mark as read

[DPK400]

I tried searching for this and couldn't find the answer. Is there a way to mark many messages as read (similar to the bulk delete?) I'm a recent blackberry user and this was a feature many many iterations ago. I am kind of surprised the 4th generation of the iPhone still lacks some pretty basic features (um any kind of sound and vibrate customization) while it really excels in others. Thanks!