Abstract:
A user device may display content items in a content area on a touch screen display of the user device. The user device detects a touching of the touch screen display and determines a location of the touching. The user device divides the content area into a first content sub-area and a second content sub-area at a location proximate to the location of the touching, wherein a portion of the content corresponding to the touching is included in the first content sub-area. The user device shifts the first content sub-area away from the location of the touching to create a blank space between the first content sub-area and the second content sub-area.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority under 35. U.S.C. §119, based on U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/304,410 filed Feb. 13, 2010, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates generally to mobile devices and, more particularly, to selecting items or elements via a touch screen display on a mobile device. 
       DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
       [0003]    Computer, communication and entertainment devices, such as personal computers (PCs), lap top computers, mobile terminals, personal digital assistants (PDAs), music playing devices, etc., often include a touch screen display that allow a user to interact with the device via the touch screen. In many situations, a user may wish to “select” or position a cursor within a content area on the touch screen. Unfortunately, conventional mechanisms for allowing such selection or positioning typically render the content difficult to view or ascertain, leading to user frustration. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    According to one aspect, a method may include displaying content items in a content area on a touch screen display; detecting a touching of the touch screen display; determining a location of the touching; dividing the content area into a first content sub-area and a second content sub-area at a location proximate to the location of the touching such that a portion of the content items are in the first content area and a portion of the content items are in the second content sub-are, wherein a portion of the content items corresponding to the touching is included in the first content sub-area; and shifting the first content sub-area away from the location of the touching to create a space between the first content sub-area and the second content sub-area. 
         [0005]    Additionally, the content items may include textual elements or graphical elements. 
         [0006]    Additionally, the first content sub-area may be shifted upward on the touch screen display relative to the location of the touching. 
         [0007]    Additionally, detecting the touching may include determining whether the touching is a content item selection or cursor placement touching. 
         [0008]    Additionally, the method may include determining a duration of the touching; determining a movement of the touching; and determining that the touching is a content item selection or cursor placement touching based on at least of the duration of the touching or the movement of the touching. 
         [0009]    Additionally, it may be determined that the touching is a content item selection or cursor placement touching when the duration of the touching is at least one second and the touching is stationary. 
         [0010]    Additionally, the method may further include determining that the touching is moving vertically with respect to the content items; and shifting the first content sub-area and the second content sub-area such that the space between the first content sub-area and the second content sub-area remains proximate to the location of the touching. 
         [0011]    Additionally, the vertical movement may cause selection of the content items between a starting location of the touching and an ending location of the touching. 
         [0012]    Additionally, the vertical movement may cause movement of a cursor or selected content item from the portion corresponding to a starting location of the touching to the portion corresponding to an ending location of the touching. 
         [0013]    Additionally, the method may include indicating the portion of the content items corresponding to the touching in the first content sub-area. 
         [0014]    Additionally, the method may include determining a contact size associated with the touching; and dividing the first content sub-area from the second content sub-area by an amount based on the contact size. 
         [0015]    In accordance with another aspect, a mobile terminal may include a touch screen display for displaying content in a content area of the touch screen display; and a processor to: detect a touching of the touch screen display; determine a location of the touching; divide the content area into a first content sub-area and a second content sub-area at a location proximate to the location of the touching, with a portion of the content being in the first content sub-area and a portion of the content being in the second content sub-area, wherein a portion of the content corresponding to the touching is included in the first content sub-area; shift the first content sub-area away from the location of the touching to create a space between the first content sub-area and the second content sub-area; and indicate the portion of the content corresponding to the touching in the first content sub-area. 
         [0016]    Additionally, the space between the first content sub-area and the second content sub-area may be proximate to the portion of the content corresponding to the touching. 
         [0017]    Additionally, the content may include textual elements or graphical elements. 
         [0018]    Additionally, the first content sub-area may be shifted upward relative to the location of the touching. 
         [0019]    Additionally, the processor may be further configured to: determine a duration of the touching; determine a movement of the touching; and determine that the touching is a content item selection or cursor placement touching based on at least of the duration of the touching or the movement of the touching. 
         [0020]    Additionally, the processor may be further configured to highlight the portion of the content corresponding to the touching in the first content sub-area. 
         [0021]    Additionally, the processor may be further configured to determine a contact size associated with the touching; and divide the first content sub-area from the second content sub-area by an amount based on the contact size. 
         [0022]    In accordance with yet another aspect, a computer-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of sequences of instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: detect a touching of the touch screen display displaying a plurality of textual characters; determine a location of the touching; determine that the touching is a cursor placement touching; identify a location in the textual characters corresponding to the cursor placement touching; shift a first content sub-area including a portion of the textual characters corresponding to the touching away from the location of the touching to create a space between the first content sub-area and a second content sub-area proximate to the location of the touching; and indicate the determined location in the text characters. 
         [0023]    Additionally, the instructions may further cause the at least one processor to insert a cursor at the determined location in the textual characters. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0024]    Reference is made to the attached drawings, wherein elements having the same reference number designation may represent like elements throughout. 
           [0025]      FIG. 1  is a diagram of an exemplary device in which methods and systems described herein may be implemented; 
           [0026]      FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram of exemplary components implemented in the device of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0027]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of components implemented in the device of  FIG. 2  according to an exemplary implementation; 
           [0028]      FIGS. 4A to 6B  illustrate screen shots of an exemplary display consistent with embodiments described herein; and 
           [0029]      FIG. 7  is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary processing associated with selecting a content item or positioning a cursor. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0030]    The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings identify the same or similar elements. Also, the following detailed description does not limit the invention. Instead, the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents. 
       Exemplary System 
       [0031]      FIG. 1  is a diagram of an exemplary user device  100  in which methods and systems described herein may be implemented. In an exemplary implementation, user device  100  may be a mobile terminal. As used herein, the term “mobile terminal” may include a cellular radiotelephone with or without a multi-line display; a Personal Communications System (PCS) terminal that may combine a cellular radiotelephone with data processing, facsimile and data communications capabilities; a personal digital assistant (PDA) that can include a radiotelephone, pager, Internet/Intranet access, Web browser, organizer, calendar and/or a global positioning system (GPS) receiver; and a conventional laptop and/or palmtop receiver or other appliance that includes a radiotelephone transceiver. Mobile terminals may also be referred to as “pervasive computing” devices. It should also be understood that systems and methods described herein may also be implemented in other devices that display information of interest and allow users to interact with the displayed information with or without including various other communication functionality. For example, user device  100  may include a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a media playing device (e.g., an MPEG audio layer  3  (MP 3 ) player, a video game playing device), a global positioning system (GPS) device, etc., that may not include various communication functionality for communicating with other devices. 
         [0032]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , user device  100  may include a housing  110 , a speaker  120 , a display  130 , control buttons  140 , a keypad  150 , and a microphone  160 . Housing  110  may protect the components of user device  100  from outside elements. Speaker  120  may provide audible information to a user of user device  100 . 
         [0033]    Display  130  may provide visual information to the user. For example, display  130  may provide information regarding incoming or outgoing telephone calls, electronic mail (e-mail), instant messages, short message service (SMS) messages, etc. Display  130  may also display information regarding various applications, such as a messaging or notes application stored in user device  100 , a phone book/contact list stored in user device  100 , the current time, video games being played by a user, downloaded content (e.g., news or other information), songs being played by the user, etc. Consistent with implementations described herein, display  130  may be a touch screen display device that allows a user to enter commands and/or information via a finger, a stylus, a mouse, a pointing device, or some other device. For example, display  130  may be a resistive touch screen, a capacitive touch screen, an optical touch screen, an infrared touch screen, a surface acoustic wave touch screen, or any other type of touch screen device that registers an input based on a contact with the screen/display  130 . 
         [0034]    Control buttons  140  may permit the user to interact with user device  100  to cause user device  100  to perform one or more operations, such as place a telephone call, play various media, etc. In an exemplary implementation, control buttons  140  may include one or more buttons that controls various applications associated with display  130 . 
         [0035]    Keypad  150  may include a standard telephone keypad. Microphone  160  may receive audible information from the user for activating applications or routines stored within user device  100 . 
         [0036]    Although user device  100  shown in  FIG. 1  includes keypad  150  and a number of control buttons  140 , it should be understood that user device  100  need not include such features. Rather, in some implementations, user device  100  may include touch screen display  130  alone, or in combination with fewer control buttons  130 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating components of user device  100  according to an exemplary implementation. User device  100  may include bus  210 , processor  220 , memory  230 , input device  240 , output device  250  and communication interface  260 . Bus  210  permits communication among the components of user device  100 . One skilled in the art would recognize that user device  100  may be configured in a number of other ways and may include other or different elements. For example, user device  100  may include one or more modulators, demodulators, encoders, decoders, etc., for processing data. 
         [0038]    Processor  220  may include a processor, microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other processing logic. Processor  220  may execute software instructions/programs or data structures to control operation of user device  100 . 
         [0039]    Memory  230  may include a random access memory (RAM) or another type of dynamic storage device that stores information and instructions for execution by processor  220 ; a read only memory (ROM) or another type of static storage device that stores static information and instructions for use by processor  220 ; a flash memory (e.g., an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM)) device for storing information and instructions; and/or some other type of magnetic or optical recording medium and its corresponding drive. Memory  230  may also be used to store temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by processor  220 . Instructions used by processor  220  may also, or alternatively, be stored in another type of computer-readable medium accessible by processor  220 . A computer-readable medium may include one or more memory devices. 
         [0040]    Input device  240  may include mechanisms that permit an operator to input information to user device  100 , such as microphone  160 , keypad  150 , control buttons  140 , a keyboard (e.g., a QWERTY keyboard, a Dvorak keyboard, etc.), a gesture-based device, an optical character recognition (OCR) based device, a joystick, a touch-based device, a virtual keyboard, a speech-to-text engine, a mouse, a pen, voice recognition and/or biometric mechanisms, etc. In an exemplary implementation, display  130  may be a touch screen display that acts as an input device. 
         [0041]    Output device  250  may include one or more mechanisms that output information to the user, including a display, such as display  130 , a printer, one or more speakers, such as speaker  120 , etc. As described above, in an exemplary implementation, display  130  may be a touch screen display. In such an implementation, display  130  may function as both an input device and an output device. 
         [0042]    Communication interface  260  may include any transceiver-like mechanism that enables user device  100  to communicate with other devices and/or systems. For example, communication interface  260  may include a modem or an Ethernet interface to a LAN. Communication interface  260  may also include mechanisms for communicating via a network, such as a wireless network. For example, communication interface  260  may include one or more radio frequency (RF) transmitters, receivers and/or transceivers and one or more antennas for transmitting and receiving RF data via a network. 
         [0043]    User device  100  may provide a platform for a user to send and receive communications (e.g., telephone calls, electronic mail messages, text messages, multi-media messages, short message service (SMS) messages, etc.), play music, browse the Internet, or perform various other functions. User device  100 , as described in detail below, may also perform processing associated with enabling a user to select an item or location on touch screen display  130  in a manner that increases the accuracy with which the selection is made. User device  100  may perform these operations in response to processor  220  executing sequences of instructions contained in a computer-readable medium, such as memory  230 . Such instructions may be read into memory  230  from another computer-readable medium via, for example, and communication interface  260 . In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement processes consistent with the invention. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software. 
         [0044]      FIG. 3  is an exemplary block diagram of components implemented in user device  100  of  FIG. 2 . In an exemplary implementation, all or some of the components illustrated in  FIG. 3  may be stored in memory  230 . For example, referring to  FIG. 3 , memory  230  may include an operating system (OS)  300 , a content application  310 , display logic  320 , touch location determining logic  330 , and content modifying logic  340 . 
         [0045]    Operating system  300  may include software instructions for managing hardware and software resources of user device  100 . Operating system  300  may manage, for example, its file system, device drivers, communication resources (e.g., radio receiver(s), transmission control protocol (TCP)/IP stack), event notifications, etc. Operating system  300  may include Symbian®, Android™, Windows Mobile®, Apple® OS X, etc. 
         [0046]    Content application  310  may include any software program or an element of a software program (e.g., a process) executed by processor  220  that displays content items or elements to the user via display  130 . Exemplary content applications  210  include Internet browsers, image or video displaying applications, email clients, text messaging clients, instant messaging clients, and productivity applications, such as word processors, spreadsheet editors, etc. As used herein, the term “content application” may refer to any application that outputs or otherwise displays text, images, or video, via display  130 . 
         [0047]    Display logic  320  may include logic configured to output content from content application  310  via display  130 . For example, display logic  320  may be configured to optimize and output content associated with content application  310  based on the specifications (e.g., resolution, etc.) associated with touch screen display  130 . 
         [0048]    Touch location determining logic  330  may include logic configured to identify one or more locations on touch screen display  130  corresponding to a point (or points) of contact associated with a user&#39;s input (e.g., a finger). For example, touch location determining logic  330  may include logic configured to determine the position of a user&#39;s finger, a stylus, or other input device. 
         [0049]    For example, in one implementation, touch location determining logic  330  may be configured to measure duration of a touch or input contact. In other words, touch location determining logic  330  may be configured to differentiate between erroneous (e.g., unintentional) touches, short touches (e.g., touches having a duration of less than 1 to 1.5 seconds), and long touches (e.g., touches having a duration of more than 1 to 1.5 seconds). Further, touch location determining logic  330  may be configured to identify whether a touch is stationary (e.g., a single press), or whether a touch is moving (e.g., a press and slide, or flick), and in what direction and at what relative speed the touch is moving. This information may be used by various applications within user device  100  to interface with user device  100 . 
         [0050]    Consistent with implementations described herein, content application  310  may, in combination with touch location determining logic  330 , be configured to determine that a user wishes to place a cursor within a particular portion of the content displayed via display  130 . Alternatively, content application  310  may be configured to determine that a user wishes to select a particular portion of the content displayed via display  130 . For example, a long touch identified by touch location determining logic may cause content application  310  (e.g., an email client) to determine that the user wishes to place a cursor at a specific location within the displayed content (e.g., an email message). In some implementations, subsequent movement of the touch (e.g., dragging or sliding while maintaining contact with touch screen  130 ) may cause the content application  310  to select additional content in a direction corresponding to the movement of the touch. 
         [0051]    Content modifying logic  340  may include logic configured to modify the output of content on display  130  upon recognition that the user wishes to place a cursor within a particular portion of the content or that the user wishes to select a particular item or portion of the content. In one implementation, content modifying logic  340  may shift content adjacent to the selected portion in a manner that creates an empty or “white” space in proximity to the selected location or content. In some implementations, the empty space may be provided in an area of display  130  underlying or adjacent to the digit/stylus used to contact display  130 . 
         [0052]    By providing an empty space proximate to the selected portion of the content, the selected portion or location may be differentiated from non-selected portions of the content without having to enlarge or otherwise distort the selected portion, thereby making the selected portion or location easier to identify. Furthermore, providing an empty space underlying or adjacent to the digit/stylus used to contact display  130  enables the user to contact display  130  without overly obscuring the content being selected. 
         [0053]    The programs and logic blocks illustrated in  FIG. 3  are provided for simplicity. It should be understood that other configurations may be possible. It should also be understood that functions described as being performed by one program or logic block within a program may alternatively be performed by another program and/or another logic block. In addition, functions described as being performed by multiple programs or logic blocks may alternatively be performed by a single program or logic block/device. 
         [0054]      FIGS. 4A to 6B  are screen shots of exemplary display  130  consistent with embodiments described herein. More particularly,  FIG. 4A  illustrates display  130  prior to user interaction (e.g., via finger  400 ) with touch screen display  130  to, e.g., select a location for a cursor location. As shown, display  130  may include a content area  410  displaying text content therein. 
         [0055]      FIG. 4B  discloses display  130  following user interaction (e.g., via finger  400 ). For example, as described briefly above, touch location determination logic  330  may determine that finger  400  has contacted a location within content area  410  for a predetermined period of time (e.g., a long touch). In this example, the user has selected a portion of content area  410  corresponding to a location between the letters “a” and “s” in the work “Maecenas.” 
         [0056]    When it is determined that the user has touched a particular portion of display  130  for the predetermined period of time (e.g., more than 1 second), content modifying logic  340  may modify the output of display  130  to enable the user to more accurately determine the location of the interaction. For example, as shown in  FIG. 4B , content elements within content area  410  may be divided into two content sub-areas  415  and  420 , with content sub-area  415  being raised or offset relative to content sub-area  420  in proximity to the selected content. Alternatively, content sub-area  420  may be lowered relative to content sub-area  415  to obtain a similar effect. In some implementations (e.g., text-based selections), a cursor  425  may be inserted into the location of content area  410  corresponding to the user&#39;s initial point of contact. In other implementations, other forms of selection indicia (e.g., highlighting, coloring, etc.) may be used to indicate the selected status of a content item. 
         [0057]    By separating content sub-areas  415  and  420  relative to one another, various benefits may be obtained. First, the blank or empty space  430  formed by the separation between sub-area  415  and sub-area  420  may enable the user to more easily discern or identify the portion of the content currently being selected (e.g., the text corresponding to the term “Maecenas” in  FIG. 4B ). Secondly, the blank space may be positioned under the user&#39;s finger or stylus (or other input element), thereby better allowing the user to clearly view and/or read the portion of the content being selected, as well as the content elements adjacent to the selected portion, without requiring distortion (e.g., magnification, etc.) of the selected content relative to adjacent content. 
         [0058]    Upon modification of the displayed content by content modifying logic  340 , additional operations may be performed on the selected content. For example, as illustrated in  FIG. 5A , the user may interact with the selected content by dragging or sliding finger  400  up or down (e.g., vertically) within content area  410 , as illustrated by the downward arrow. In one implementation (as depicted in  FIG. 5A ), such vertical movement may cause additional rows of content to be selected or deselected. As each row is selected or deselected, space  430  may be shifted within content area  410  to allow easy identification of the selected portion furthest from the initial selection point. 
         [0059]    In another implementation (not shown), vertical movement may cause movement of the cursor or selected item corresponding to movement of finger  400 . For example, as the user drags finger  400  down, cursor  425  may move down in a corresponding manner. In this implementation, as each row is traversed, space  430  may be shifted to allow easy identification a portion of content area  410  corresponding to the presently selected portion. In this manner, the portion of the content being selected may be easily viewed, while the selection is being made. 
         [0060]    Similar to  FIG. 5A ,  FIG. 5B  illustrates one implementation of left and right (e.g., horizontal) interaction with display  130  upon modification by content modifying logic  340 . Horizontal movement may cause additional characters or content elements in a row to be selected or deselected. In another implementation (not shown), horizontal movement may cause movement of the cursor or selected item corresponding to movement of finger  400 . For example, as the user drags finger  400  to the right, cursor  425  may move to the right in a corresponding manner. 
         [0061]    Although shown independently in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , it should be understood that horizontal and vertical movement may be performed simultaneously with the combined effects being observed. For example, movement down and to the right may cause cursor  425  to move down and to the right from the originally selection portion. Simultaneously, blank space  430  may shift down a corresponding amount to ensure that black space  430  is immediately below the lowest (or current) selected portion. 
         [0062]      FIGS. 6A and 6B  illustrate screen shots of exemplary display  130  consistent with non-textual implementations. As illustrated in  FIG. 6A , content area  410  in display  130  may include an image browser or image library  600  having a number of images, labeled PIC 1  to PIC 16 , therein. As shown, in one implementation, display  130  may display thumbnail (e.g., smaller) images for each image in library  600 . 
         [0063]      FIG. 6B  discloses display  130  following user interaction (e.g., via finger  610 ). For example, as described briefly above, touch location determination logic  320  may determine that finger  610  has contacted a particular image within image library  600  for a predetermined period of time (e.g., a long touch). In this example, the user has selected a “PIC 7” in image library  600 . 
         [0064]    When it is determined that the user has touched a particular portion of display  130  for the predetermined period of time (e.g., more than 1 second), content modifying logic  340  may modify the output of display  130  to enable the user to more accurately determine the location of the interaction. For example, as shown in  FIG. 6B , thumbnail images within image library  600  may be divided into two content sub-areas  620  and  630 , with content sub-area  620  being raised or offset relative to content sub-area  630  in proximity to the selected thumbnail. As illustrated, the selected image thumbnail may be indicated by a selection indicia, such as highlighting, coloring, etc. 
         [0065]    By separating content sub-areas  620  and  630  relative to one another, various benefits may be obtained. First, the blank or empty space  640  formed by the separation between sub-area  620  and sub-area  630  may enable the user to more easily discern or identify the selected content element (e.g., “Pic 7”). Secondly, blank space  640  may be positioned under the user&#39;s finger or stylus (or other input element), thereby better allowing the user to clearly view the selected content item. This allows display  130  to present thumbnail images or other content items having smaller dimensions, since the images or other items are not unnecessarily obscured during selection. 
         [0066]      FIG. 7  illustrates exemplary processing for selecting content items or cursor locations on a touch screen device. Processing may begin with user device  100  displaying a content area having a number of content items provided thereon (act  710 ). For example, content application  310  may output content items, such as text characters, images (e.g., thumbnail images), files, etc. via display logic  320 . 
         [0067]    Device  100  may receive a user interaction (e.g., a touch) (block  715 ). For example, touch location determining logic  330  may determine that a user has performed a touch of touch screen  130 , the duration of the touch, and the location of the touch. 
         [0068]    Device  100  may determine that the touch is a content item selection touch or cursor placement touch (block  720 ). For example, content application  310  may determine that a location corresponding to the identified touch includes selectable content and/or text. Additionally, content application  310  may determine that a duration of the touch is greater than a predetermined duration (e.g., 1 second). 
         [0069]    Display modifying logic  340  may divide the content area in a position proximate to the detected touch (block  725 ). In one implementation, dividing the content area creates a first content sub-area and a second sub-area separated by a blank space or gap, such as gap  430  or gap  640 . Furthermore, the first content sub-area may include the content item/cursor location that initially corresponded to the detected touch. The first sub-area may be shifted away or offset from the physical touch location, such that the physical touch location (e.g., the position of the user&#39;s finger or stylus on display  130 ) remains in the blank space or gap formed between the first content sub-area and the second content sub-area. In one implementation, the first content sub-area is shifted up relative to the second content sub-area. 
         [0070]    Consistent with implementations described herein, the width of gap  430 / 640  may be dynamically adjusted based on the size or contact area associated with the identified touch. For example, detection of a user having a large finger (e.g., by touch location determining logic  330 ) may result in a wider gap  430 / 640 , whereas detection of a user with a smaller finger or using a stylus, may result in a narrower gap  430 / 640 . In some instances, the width of gap  430 / 640  may be sized to reduce the amount of content obscured by the contacting digit or implement, while simultaneously maximizing the amount of content displayed on display  130 . 
         [0071]    The portion of the content corresponding to the initially selected location may be indicated (block  730 ). For example, a cursor may be positioned at the selected location for text-based content. Alternatively, for non-text content (e.g., images, etc.), the selected image or content element may be highlighted or otherwise visually indicated. 
         [0072]    A touch movement may be received (block  735 ). For example, touch location determining logic  330  may determine that the detected touch has moved relative to its initial location. In response, the selected location/content item may be moved in a corresponding manner (block  740 ). Content modifying logic  340  may shift the divided content area based on the movement of the detected touch (block  745 ). For example, movement of the touch in a downward or upward manner may cause the content area divide (e.g., the space between the first content sub-area and the second content sub-area, such as space  430  or  640 ) to move in a corresponding manner, such that a currently selected portion remains immediately above the blank space. 
         [0073]    In some implementations, movement of the touch may cause content application  310  to select a portion of the content located between the initially selected portion and the portion corresponding to the end of the touch movement. In other implementations, movement of the touch may cause content application  310  to move the selection from the portion of the content that was initially selected to the portion of the content corresponding to the end of the touch movement. 
       CONCLUSION 
       [0074]    Implementations described herein provide a method and device for enabling accurate selection of content items or cursor positioning on a touch screen device. In one implementation, upon detecting a touching, a portion of the displayed content corresponding to the touch may be shifted away from the physical location of the touch and also from a remaining portion of the content. This effectively inserts a blank space or gap between the selected content portion and the remaining content. The positioning of the gap enables the user to easily identify the selected portion of the content or the position of the cursor and further allows for unencumbered viewing of the selected content/cursor location and its adjacent content. This may further enhance the user&#39;s overall experience with respect to use of the user device. 
         [0075]    The foregoing description of the embodiments described herein provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from the practice of the invention. 
         [0076]    Further, while series of acts have been described with respect to  FIG. 7 , the order of the acts may be varied in other implementations consistent with the invention. Moreover, non-dependent acts may be performed in parallel. 
         [0077]    It will also be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that aspects of the invention, as described above, may be implemented in computer devices, cellular communication devices/systems, media playing devices, methods, and/or computer program products. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may be embodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.). Furthermore, aspects of the invention may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium having computer-usable or computer-readable program code embodied in the medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system. The actual software code or specialized control hardware used to implement aspects consistent with the principles of the invention is not limiting of the invention. Thus, the operation and behavior of the aspects were described without reference to the specific software code--it being understood that one of ordinary skill in the art would be able to design software and control hardware to implement the aspects based on the description herein. 
         [0078]    Further, certain portions of the invention may be implemented as “logic” that performs one or more functions. This logic may include hardware, such as a processor, a microprocessor, an ASIC, an FPGA or other processing logic, software, or a combination of hardware and software. 
         [0079]    It should be emphasized that the term “comprises/comprising” when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components, or groups thereof. 
         [0080]    No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the article “a” is intended to include one or more items. Further, the phrase “based on,” as used herein is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. 
         [0081]    The scope of the invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.