NAVIGATION KEYS FOR A HANDHELD ELECTRONIC DEVICE
A handheld wireless communication device includes features that make it easier to differentiate among various keys and to correctly select a desired key. It also includes features that make the device more comfortable to use. In particular, corner keys have decreasing height profiles to make above-adjacent keys easier to reach and distinguish. Additionally, lowermost, outermost portions of the corner keys may be somewhat truncated. Flanking keys in a navigation row slant toward and are flush with peripheral edges of a navigation tool assembly and have outer edges that are higher than inner edges of adjacent outer keys. The outer edges of the flanking keys may be hump-shaped or crowned. The longitudinally central portion of the device is narrower than the ends of the device, and the corners of the device are contoured to enhance comfort in a user's hand. Soft-touch materials are employed in hand-contacting portions of the device.
1 . A handheld wireless communication device configured to send and receive text messages, said device comprising:
a body having a front face, a vertical centerline, and top and bottom portions;
a navigation row of user inputs located on the front face of said body, said navigation row of user inputs comprising a multi-directional navigation tool assembly flanked by a pair of flanking keys, each of said flanking keys located substantially opposite one another across said navigation tool assembly and positioned adjacent lateral sides of said navigation tool assembly; and
at least a portion of each flanking key having an upper surface of variable height above said front face of said body of said device, said upper surface being upwardly sloping from a laterally inner edge of the flanking key toward a lateral mid-portion of the key.
2 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein said navigation tool assembly comprises a trackball located between said flanking keys, said trackball having a top height level with a portion of each of said upwardly sloping upper surfaces of said flanking keys whereby an operator's finger sliding from said trackball to one of said flanking keys tactilely experiences a substantially smooth transition between said trackball and the flanking key.
3 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 2 , wherein said trackball is located at a recess in said front face of said body of said device.
4 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 3 , wherein said recess is shaped as an interiorly concave circular band around said trackball.
5 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 4 , wherein an upper lip of said recess has a height substantially equal to a height of the laterally inner edge of each of the flanking keys whereby an operator's finger sliding across said recess to one of said flanking keys tactilely experiences a substantially smooth transition between said recess and the flanking key.
6 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the upper surface of each flanking key is upwardly sloping from the key's laterally inner edge to a laterally outer edge of the key.
7 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 6 , wherein said navigation row further comprises:
a pair of outer keys, each outer key being located substantially opposite one another across said navigation tool assembly and each outer key being outboardly positioned adjacent to a laterally outer edge of a respective flanking key.
8 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 7 , wherein the laterally inner edge of each of said outer keys has a height that is less than the height of the laterally outer edge of a respective flanking key to which the outer key is outboardly positioned and whereby an operator's finger sliding from a flanking key to the respective outer key tactilely experiences a dropoff transition between the flanking key and the outer key.
9 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 8 , wherein the upper surface of each outer key is chamfered at the laterally inner edge thereof thereby establishing the dropoff transition between the flanking key and the respective outer key.
10 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 8 , wherein said navigation tool assembly comprises a trackball located between said pair of flanking keys, said trackball having a top height level with a portion of each of said upwardly sloping upper surfaces of said flanking keys whereby an operator's finger sliding from said trackball to one of said flanking keys tactilely experiences a substantially smooth transition between said trackball and the flanking key.
11 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 8 , wherein said trackball is located at a recess in said front face of said body of said device.
12 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 11 , wherein said recess is shaped as an interiorly concave circular band around said trackball.
13 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 12 , wherein an upper lip of said recess has a height substantially equal to a height of the laterally inner edge of each of the flanking keys whereby an operator's finger sliding across said recess to one of said flanking keys tactilely experiences a substantially smooth transition between said recess and the flanking key.
14 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 8 , wherein the upper surface of each flanking key is upwardly sloping from the key's laterally inner edge to a laterally outer edge of the key.
15 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
said body being hand cradleable and configured to be held in a text entry orientation in one hand of an operator of said device during text entry;
a display located on said front face of said body and upon which information is displayed to the operator of the device in the text entry orientation; and
a key field located at said front face of said body, said key field comprising a plurality of keys of which a portion are alphanumeric input keys and a portion are function keys, said alphanumeric input keys comprising a plurality of alphabetic keys having letters associated therewith that are arranged in one of a QWERTY, QWLRTZ, AZERTY, and Dvorak arrangement for facilitating text entry.
16 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 15 , wherein said key field and said navigation row of user inputs are substantially mirror symmetric about said vertical centerline.
17 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 16 , wherein said body is elongate with a longitudinal axis parallel to said vertical centerline relative the text entry orientation.
18 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 17 , wherein said display is located in said top portion of said body during text entry and said key field is located in said bottom portion of said body during text entry.
19 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 18 , wherein said navigation tool assembly comprises a trackball disposed at said front face of said body and said navigation row of user inputs is located between said display and said key field.
20 . The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein said device is configurable to send and receive voice communications.