Electronic device and method of character selection

1. An electronic device comprising:

a plurality of mechanical keys;

a first touch-sensitive strip spaced by a distance from the plurality of mechanical keys and disposed along at least some of the plurality of mechanical keys and configured to detect a touch;

a processor coupled to the first touch-sensitive strip and the mechanical keys and configured to:

when no touch is detected on the first touch-sensitive strip while a first key of the plurality of mechanical keys is depressed, identify a first character associated with the first key;

when a touch is detected on the first touch-sensitive strip while the first key is depressed, identify a second character associated with the first key;

wherein the first touch-sensitive strip is part of a touch-sensitive display, and

wherein the touch-sensitive display is located adjacent a row of the plurality of mechanical keys to facilitate, by a single touch, depression of any one of the mechanical keys while touching the touch-sensitive display.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the first touch-sensitive strip extends along a row of the mechanical keys.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the mechanical keys comprise keys of a keyboard.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the second character associated with the first key is displayed at a location aligned with the associated first key.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1 , comprising a second touch-sensitive strip, wherein the plurality of mechanical keys comprises at least one row of keys disposed between the first touch-sensitive strip and the second touch-sensitive strip.

6. The electronic device according to claim 1 , comprising a second touch-sensitive strip, wherein when a touch is detected on the second touch-sensitive strip while the first key is depressed, a third character associated with the first key is identified.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of mechanical keys is associated with at least three characters.

8. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of mechanical keys are arranged and constructed to provide tactile feedback when selected.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the touch-sensitive strip extends a width of the row of the mechanical keys.

10. A method comprising:

detecting depression of a first key of a plurality of mechanical keys of an electronic device to select the first key;

in response to detecting depression of the first key:

identifying a first character associated with the first key when no touch is detected on a first touch-sensitive input device while the first key is depressed, wherein the first touch-sensitive input device comprises a touch-sensitive display that is spaced from and extends adjacent a row of the plurality of mechanical keys to facilitate, by a single touch, depression of any one of the mechanical keys of the row while touching the touch-sensitive display to select the first character;

identifying the second character associated with the first key when a touch is detected on the first touch-sensitive input device while the first key is depressed.

11. The method according to claim 10 , comprising entering the identified character.

12. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the second character is identified when the touch overlaps in time with the selection.

13. The method according to claim 10 , wherein, when a touch is detected on a second touch-sensitive input device while the first mechanical key is depressed, a third character associated with the one of the plurality of mechanical keys is identified.

14. The method according to claim 10 , comprising displaying the second character on a display of the electronic device.

15. A computer-readable storage device having computer-readable code executable by at least one processor of the electronic device to perform the method of claim 10 .

16. An electronic device comprising:

a physical keyboard comprising mechanical keys arranged in a single row, wherein a first mechanical key of the mechanical keys is associated with a first character, a second character, and a third character;

a first touch-sensitive input device that extends along the single row, adjacent to and spaced from the physical keyboard and is configured to detect a touch;

a second touch-sensitive input device that extends along the single row, adjacent to and spaced from the physical keyboard and is configured to detect a touch;

a display configured to display the first character, the second character, and the third character associated with the first mechanical key;

a processor operably coupled to the display, the touch-sensitive input device, and the mechanical keys and configured to:

when no touch is detected on the first touch-sensitive input device during depression of the first mechanical key, select the first character associated with the first mechanical key;

when a touch is detected on the first touch-sensitive input device during depression of the first mechanical key, select the second character associated with the first mechanical key;

when a touch is detected on the second touch-sensitive input device during depression of the first mechanical key, select the third character associated with the first mechanical key.

17. The electronic device according to claim 16 , wherein the first touch-sensitive strip is recessed in a housing of the electronic device to reduce the chance of inadvertent touching of the first touch-sensitive strip.

18. The electronic device according to claim 16 , wherein the physical keyboard comprises a single row of mechanical keys.