Abstract: A wireless handheld communication device having a housing containing a display screen located above a physical keyboard. The keyboard includes a plurality of physical keys and corresponding indicia. Some of the keys are associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z and some are associated with numeric characters 0-9 corresponding to a telephone keypad arrangement. At least some of the keys associated with numeric characters are overlaid on the physical keys associated with alphabetic characters. A microprocessor is included that runs the device in at least a telephony mode, an email mode and at least one additional mode. The microprocessor displays a key-function map on the display screen indicative of enabled functions associated with particular physical keys of the keyboard which are different from any function signified by the indicia associated with the respective particular physical key.

Abstract: A handheld electronic device includes a keypad having up plurality of keys and a selection member; a display component; and a processor cooperating with the keypad and the display component to provide a display at the display component. The display includes a first representation of a plurality of the keys, and at least one of: (a) a second representation of an activated one of the input members (b) a third representation including a plurality of diacritics disposed about an activated one of the input members, and (c) a fourth representation including a plurality of diacritics disposed about an activated one of the input members, and a direction of selection between the activated one of the input members and one of the diacritics. The processor cooperates with the selection member to adjust the direction of selection, and select one of the diacritics for display by the display component.

Abstract: A dual-mode mobile communication device is provided including a device housing having a front surface, a rear surface and a plurality of side surfaces coupling the front surface to the rear surface. The dual-mode device includes a transceiver for sending and receiving voice and data communications is integrated into the device housing, a display, mounted within the front surface of the device housing, for displaying information to a user of the device regarding voice and data communications, a QWERTY keyboard mounted below the display and within the front surface of the device housing, for generating data communications, and a microphone and a speaker for generating voice communications, wherein the microphone is mounted below the display within the front surface of the device housing and the speaker is mounted above the display within the front surface of the device housing.

Abstract: A communications device, method and system include a processor and a Near Field Communications (NFC) circuit connected to the processor and configured to communicate using an NFC communications protocol. An accelerometer is connected to the processor and configured to generate a signal to the processor upon a tapping engagement with an NFC enabled device. In response, the processor activates the NFC circuit to transmit or receive data with the NFC enabled device using the NFC communications protocol.

Abstract: A mobile wireless communications device includes a housing and a circuit board carried by the housing. Radio frequency (RF) circuitry and a processor are carried by the housing and operative with each other. A Near Field Communications (NFC) circuit is connected to the processor for communicating using an NFC communications protocol. A magnetic sensor is supported by the housing and connected to the processor for sensing a magnetic field and generating a signal to the processor and in response, the processor activating the NFC circuit for transmitting or receiving data using the NFC communications protocol.

Abstract: An adaptive pedestrian billboard system may include a display for passing pedestrian traffic, and a memory for storing a plurality of notifications having different visual feature detail levels. The system may further include a controller configured to cooperate with the display and the memory for determining a density of the passing pedestrian traffic, select notifications from the memory based upon the density of the passing pedestrian traffic so that notifications for higher density passing pedestrian traffic have lower visual feature detail levels and so that notifications for lower density passing pedestrian traffic have higher visual feature detail levels, and display the selected notifications on the display.

Abstract: A handheld electronic device includes a reduced QWERTY keyboard and is enabled with disambiguation software. The device provides output in the form of a default output and a number of variants. The output is based largely upon the frequency, i.e., the likelihood that a user intended a particular output, but various features of the device provide additional variants that are not based solely on frequency and rather are provided by various logic structures resident on the device. The device enables editing during text entry and also provides a learning function that allows the disambiguation function to adapt to provide a customized experience for the user. The disambiguation function can be selectively disabled and an alternate keystroke interpretation system provided.

Abstract: Standard word lists that are often used for such operations as predictive text, spell checking, and word completion are based on general linguistic data that might not accurately reflect actual text usage patterns of particular users. Systems and methods of building and using a custom word list for use in text operations on an electronic device are provided. A collection of text items associated with a user of the electronic device is scanned to identify words in the text items. A weighting is then assigned to each identified word, and the words and corresponding weightings are stored.

Abstract: A hand-held electronic device has a keyboard with a plurality of keys, each key having a substantially flat contact surface extending to the sides of each key. One of the sides of the key is beveled.

Abstract: A communications system may include at least one mobile wireless communications device for storing personal interest information for respective contacts and for storing calendar event data. The system may further include a notification server communicating with the at least one mobile wireless communications device via a wireless communications network and configured to access the personal interest information and calendar event data from the at least one mobile wireless communications device, and send notifications to the at least one mobile wireless communications device based upon the personal interest information and the calendar event data.

Abstract: A method and hierarchical menu is provided for displaying on the screen of a wireless handheld electronic device an extended menu or a short menu, which is a subset of the corresponding extended menu. The method includes displaying a page on a screen and receiving an ambiguous request/selection when no menu is displayed. In response to the ambiguous selection, a short menu corresponding to the displayed page is displayed on the screen. Various short menus are provided with their respective menu items being dependent and adjustable based upon the position of a cursor on the displayed page, the currently opened application, and/or the previous selections. Further, a selection from the short menu is capable of displaying the extended menu corresponding thereto.

Abstract: A system and method of selecting a letter for display in a communication device having a display and a reduced-key keyboard is provided. One of the plurality of keys on the reduced-key keyboard is selected and a default letter associated with the selected key is displayed. A backspace key is selected to display a cursor in the position of the default letter on the display. The key associated with the default letter is selected again and an alternate letter associated with the selected key is displayed in place of the default letter.

Abstract: A wireless communications system may include a user-wearable device including a clasp having open and closed positions, a first wireless security circuit (WSC), and a first controller coupled to the clasp and the first WSC. The system may further include a mobile wireless communications device including a portable housing, an input device(s), a second WSC carried by the portable housing and configured to communicate with the first WSC when in close proximity therewith, and a second controller carried by the portable housing and coupled to the second WSC and the input device(s). The second controller may be configured to enable mobile wireless communications device(s) function based upon a manual entry of an authentication code via the input device(s), and bypass the manual entry and enable the mobile wireless communications device function(s) based upon a communication from the user-wearable device and a position of the clasp.

Abstract: A wireless handheld communication device features a rotational navigation tool assembly such as a trackball or a thumbwheel. The rotational navigation tool assembly provides a user with tactile feedback corresponding to motion of a selection or position indicator on the device display. The tactile feedback is electromagnetically induced and may, for example, be considered an electromagnetic detent.

Abstract: An improved handheld electronic device having a reduced keyboard provides facilitated language entry by making available to a user certain words that a user may reasonably be expected to enter. In some situations, certain words can be stored, for example, in a temporary dictionary for use in particular situations. For instance, the names of the recipients of an electronic message might be stored in a temporary dictionary for rapid retrieval when entering a salutation in the message. As another example, a number of the words in an existing electronic message may be stored in a temporary dictionary and made available to a user when replying to or forwarding the message since the existing message might include words that the user might reasonably be expected to type in the reply message or the forwarded message.

Abstract: A keyboard includes a plurality of keys each of which is associated with indicia corresponding to at least one of alphabetic characters, numbers, or commands. The keys of the plurality of keys associated with alphabetic characters number fewer than 26 and greater than nine. No more than two alphabetic characters are associated with each of the keys associated with alphabetic characters. At least one of the keys associated with alphabetic characters is associated with two alphabetic characters and at least one number. The numbers are arranged and displayed in the format of a phone keypad and the letters are arranged and displayed in a keyboard layout.

Abstract: A handheld electronic device with a body which houses a microprocessor-run software application is disclosed. The software application program requires operator navigation therein during use. Furthermore, the application program is programmed to receive a directional navigation instruction from the operator utilizing a navigation tool. The instruction indicates a direction and degree of navigation with the application program. The application program is further programmed to receive a complimentary instruction from the operator that adapts the instructed degree of navigation to be affected in the application program by the received directional navigation instruction.

Abstract: An improved handheld electronic device and associated method provide an advanced editing feature and an improved learning feature that are provided in a disambiguation environment. The advanced editing feature advantageously enables a new word that has been incorrectly disambiguated by a disambiguation routine to be readily corrected by the user without requiring the incorrectly disambiguated word to be deleted and retyped. Rather, the advanced editing feature enables the incorrectly disambiguated characters to be replaced with opposite characters on the same keys, and such changes can be accomplished merely through the use of inputs to a track ball. The newly edited word can then be learned by a learning database. The improved learning function advantageously favors words that are learned using the advanced editing feature over words that have been learned in other fashions.

Abstract: A wireless handheld communication device having a housing containing a display screen located above a physical keyboard. The keyboard includes a plurality of physical keys and corresponding indicia. Some of the keys are associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z and some are associated with numeric characters 0-9 corresponding to a telephone keypad arrangement. At least some of the keys associated with numeric characters are overlaid on the physical keys associated with alphabetic characters. A microprocessor is included that runs the device in at least a telephony mode, an email mode and at least one additional mode. The microprocessor displays a key-function map on the display screen indicative of enabled functions associated with particular physical keys of the keyboard which are different from any function signified by the indicia associated with the respective particular physical key.

Abstract: A system and method for managing data on a handheld electronic device is provided. A server periodically pushes data to a particular handheld electronic device, the data being stored on the handheld electronic device via a routine running in the background, such reception and storage being generally transparent to a user. The data can include data is desired by the user or that fits a profile or preference of the user. The profile can be predetermined and/or customized by the user and/or reflect a preference of the user. The data pushed to the handheld electronic device can also be related to a geographic disposition of the handheld electronic device. Such pushing of data and storage is managed by a routine running in the background of the handheld electronic device. The routine enables current data to be maintained on the handheld electronic device for ready access by a user.