HANDHELD WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICE
A handheld wireless communication device cradleable in one hand by an operator during text entry. A display, key field and trackball are all located on a front face of the device. Alphanumeric input keys include several alphabetic keys with letters arranged in a traditional (QWERTY), but non-ITU Standard E.161 telephone letter layout. A microprocessor receives operator commands from the keys and the trackball navigation tool and which affects corresponding changes to the display based on user input. The keys of the key field are arranged in rows and columns and at least one of the rows and columns is arranged with a long axis thereof radially oriented relative to the trackball navigation tool. A key positioned adjacent to the trackball is a menu key that upon actuation displays an available action menu on the display in dependence of the currently running application on the device.
1 . A handheld wireless communication device configured to send and receive text messages, said device comprising:
a hand cradleable body configured to be held in one hand by an operator of said device during text entry;
a display located on a front face of said body and upon which information is displayed to the operator during text entry;
a key field located on the front face of said elongate body, said key field being composed of a plurality of keys selected from a plurality of alphanumeric input keys and at least one menu key;
a trackball navigation tool located on the front face of said body;
a menu key positioned laterally adjacent to said trackball navigation tool and which upon actuation displays an available action menu on said display;
said alphanumeric input keys comprising a plurality of alphabetic keys having letters associated therewith and said letters, in a top row of said alphabetic keys, comprising in consecutive order the letters Q, W, E, R and T;
a microprocessor configured to receive operator commands from said alphanumeric input keys, said menu keys and said trackball navigation tool and to affect corresponding changes to the display; and
a plurality of keys of said key field are arranged in rows and columns and at least one of said rows and columns is substantially radially oriented relative to said trackball navigation tool.
2 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein at least two of said rows and columns are arranged with respective long axes thereof substantially radially oriented relative to said trackball navigation tool.
3 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein at least two of said rows and columns are arranged with respective long axes thereof substantially radially oriented relative to said trackball navigation tool and said long axes are perpendicularly oriented to one another.
4 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein said letters associated with said alphabetic keys are arranged in a QWERTY layout.
5 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein said letters associated with said alphabetic keys are arranged in a reduced-QWERTY layout.
6 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein said body is configured to be held in the hand of the operator with a long axis of said device substantially horizontally oriented during text entry.
7 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein said body is configured to be held in the hand of the operator with a long axis of said device substantially vertically oriented during text entry.
8 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 7 , wherein said display is located in an upper portion of the front face of said body during text entry, said key field is located in a lower portion of the front face of said body during text entry and said trackball navigation tool is located substantially between said key field and said display.
9 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein said trackball navigation tool is at least partially surrounded by said key field.
10 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein a majority of said trackball navigation tool is surrounded by said key field.
11 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
said handheld wireless communication device being configured to send and receive voice communications;
wherein at least one key of said key field is positioned adjacent to said trackball navigation tool and said at least one key has a circular arc-shaped edge conformance fitting to a circular arc-shaped boundary about said trackball navigation tool; and
two call keys oppositely and laterally flank said trackball navigation tool, one of said two call keys being a call initiation key and the other being a call termination key.
12 . A handheld wireless communication device configured to send and receive text messages, said device comprising:
a hand cradleable body configured to be held in one hand by an operator of said device during text entry;
a display located on a front face of said body and upon which information is displayed to the operator during text entry;
a key field located on the front face of said elongate body, said key field being composed of a plurality of keys selected from a plurality of alphanumeric input keys and at least one menu key;
a trackball navigation tool located on the front face of said body;
a menu key positioned laterally adjacent to said trackball navigation tool and which upon actuation displays an available action menu on said display;
said alphanumeric input keys comprising a plurality of alphabetic keys having letters associated therewith and said letters being arranged in a traditional, non-ITU Standard E.161 layout;
a microprocessor configured to receive operator commands from said alphanumeric input keys, said menu keys and said trackball navigation tool and to affect corresponding changes to the display; and
a plurality of keys of said key field are arranged in rows and columns and at least one of said rows and columns is arranged with a long axis thereof substantially radially oriented relative to said trackball navigation tool.
13 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 12 , wherein a majority of said trackball navigation tool is surrounded by said key field.
14 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 12 , wherein at least two of said rows and columns are arranged with respective long axes thereof substantially radially oriented relative to said trackball navigation tool.
15 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 12 , wherein at least two of said rows and columns are arranged with respective long axes thereof substantially radially oriented relative to said trackball navigation tool and said long axes are perpendicularly oriented to one another.
16 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 12 , wherein said body is configured to be held in the hand of the operator with a long axis of said device substantially horizontally oriented during text entry.
17 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 12 , wherein said body is configured to be held in the hand of the operator with a long axis of said device substantially vertically oriented during text entry.
18 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 12 , further comprising:
said handheld wireless communication device being configured to send and receive voice communications;
wherein at least one key of said key field is positioned adjacent to said trackball navigation tool and said at least one key has a circular arc-shaped edge conformance fitting to a circular arc-shaped boundary about said trackball navigation tool; and
two call keys oppositely and laterally flank said trackball navigation tool, one of said two call keys being a call initiation key and the other being a call termination key.
19 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 12 , wherein said letters associated with said alphabetic keys are arranged in a QWERTY layout.
20 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 12 , wherein said letters associated with said alphabetic keys are arranged in a reduced-QWERTY layout.