Patent Publication Number: US-8972238-B2

Title: Mobile electronic device and associated method enabling transliteration of a text input

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application is a continuation and claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 13/595,659 filed on Aug. 27, 2012 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,510,095 on Aug. 13, 2013, which is a continuation and claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 12/463,593 filed on May 11, 2009 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,275,601 on Sep. 25, 2012, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 61/052,222, filed May 11, 2008, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     The disclosed and claimed concept relates generally to mobile electronic devices and, more particularly, to a mobile electronic device and method that enable transliteration of a text input. 
     2. Background Information 
     Numerous types of mobile electronic devices are known. Examples of such mobile electronic devices include, for instance, personal data assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, two-way pagers, cellular telephones, and the like. Many mobile electronic devices also feature wireless communication capability, although many such mobile electronic devices are stand-alone devices that are functional without communication with other devices. 
     In certain circumstances, text in a certain alphabet or language can be phonetically input using a different alphabet, i.e., a different set of characters. By way of example, BoPoMoFo is a means by which Traditional Chinese characters can by input via the inputting of phonetic BoPoMoFo characters. The BoPoMoFo “alphabet” comprises approximately thirty-eight BoPoMoFo characters and five tones, all of which comprise phonetic content which, when input as text, can be transliterated into Traditional Chinese text. 
     Pinyin Chinese is another type of phonetic text input transliteration system which enables Simplified Chinese, i.e., Standard Mandarin, characters to by input via the inputting of Latin characters. A “pin” is a phonetic sound, oftentimes formed from a plurality of Latin characters, and each pin is associated with one or more Standard Mandarin characters. More than four hundred pins exist, and each pin typically corresponds with a plurality of different Standard Mandarin characters. 
     While such transliteration algorithms have been generally effective for their intended purpose, such transliteration algorithms have not been without limitation. It thus would be desired to provide an improved method and mobile electronic device that facilitate the inputting of text. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A full understanding of the disclosed and claimed concept can be gained from the following Description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a top plan view of an improved mobile electronic device in accordance with the disclosed and claimed concept; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic depiction of the improved mobile electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an exemplary output that can be provided on a display of the mobile electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is another exemplary output; 
         FIG. 5  is another exemplary output; 
         FIG. 6  is another exemplary output; 
         FIG. 7  is another exemplary output; 
         FIG. 8  is an exemplary flowchart depicting at least a portion of an improved method in accordance with the disclosed and claimed concept and which can be executed on the mobile electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9  is an exemplary home screen that can be visually output on the mobile electronic device; 
         FIG. 10  depicts an exemplary menu that can be output on the mobile electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 11  depicts another exemplary menu; 
         FIG. 12  depicts an exemplary reduced menu; 
         FIG. 13  is an output such as could occur during another exemplary text entry or text editing operation; 
         FIG. 14  is an output during another exemplary text entry operation; 
         FIG. 15  is an alternative output during the exemplary text entry operation of  FIG. 14 ; 
         FIG. 16  is another output during another part of the exemplary text entry operation of  FIG. 14 ; 
         FIG. 17  is an exemplary output during a data entry operation; 
         FIG. 18  is a top plan view of an improved mobile electronic device in accordance with another embodiment of the disclosed and claimed concept; and 
         FIG. 19  is a schematic depiction of the improved mobile electronic device of  FIG. 18 . 
     
    
    
     Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the specification. 
     DESCRIPTION 
     An improved mobile electronic device  4  is indicated generally in  FIG. 1  and is depicted schematically in  FIG. 2 . The exemplary mobile electronic device  4  includes a housing  6  upon which are disposed an input apparatus  8 , an output apparatus  12 , and a processor apparatus  16 . The input apparatus  8  is structured to provide input to the processor apparatus  16 , and the output apparatus  12  is structured to receive output signals from the processor apparatus  16 . The output apparatus  12  comprises a display  18  that is structured to provide visual output, although other output devices such as speakers, LEDs, tactile output devices, and so forth can be additionally or alternatively used. In an example embodiment, the display  18  is a touchscreen display. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the processor apparatus  16  comprises a processor  36  and a memory  40 . The processor  36  may be, for instance and without limitation, a microprocessor (μP) that is responsive to inputs from the input apparatus  8  and that provides output signals to the output apparatus  12 . The processor  36  interfaces with the memory  40 . 
     The memory  40  can be said to constitute a machine-readable medium and can be any one or more of a variety of types of internal and/or external storage media such as, without limitation, RAM, ROM, EPROM(s), EEPROM(s), FLASH, and the like that provide a storage register for data storage such as in the fashion of an internal storage area of a computer, and can be volatile memory or nonvolatile memory. The memory  40  has stored therein a number of routines  44  which are executable on the processor  36 . As employed herein, the expression “a number of” and variations thereof shall refer broadly to any non-zero quantity, including a quantity of one. The routines  44  can be in any of a variety of forms such as, without limitation, software, firmware, and the like. As will be explained in greater detail below, the routines  44  include a text transliteration algorithm in the form of a transliteration routine  44 , as well as other routines. The exemplary transliteration routine  44  is employable to enable BoPoMoFo text input to be transliterated into Traditional Chinese word output. 
     The memory  40  also has stored therein a character table  42  which comprises a large quantity of Traditional Chinese characters and the corresponding BoPoMoFo strings which can be transliterated into the Traditional Chinese characters. It is noted that the Chinese language is used as an exemplary language herein, and it is further understood that other languages such as Japanese and Korean, for example, could similarly be phonetically input on the mobile electronic device  4  without departing from the present concept. That is, the mobile electronic device  4  is described herein in an exemplary fashion as being configured for the phonetic inputting of the Chinese language via transliteration between BoPoMoFo characters and Traditional Chinese characters, and it is understood that in other embodiments the mobile electronic device  4  could be configured to input, for instance, Japanese or Korean text or text in another language without departing from the present concept. 
     As can be understood from  FIG. 1 , the input apparatus  8  includes a keyboard  24  and a multiple-axis input device which, in the exemplary embodiment depicted herein, is a trackball  32  that will be described in greater detail below. The keyboard  24  comprises a plurality of keys  28 , with many of the keys  28  each having at least one BoPoMoFo character  26  or a tone  30  assigned thereto, and with at least some of the keys  28  each having a plurality of BoPoMoFo characters  26  assigned thereto. The keys  28  and the trackball  32  all serve as input elements that are actuatable to provide input to the processor apparatus  16 . The keyboard  24  and the trackball  32  are advantageously disposed adjacent one another on a front face of the housing  6 . This facilitates the operation of the trackball  32  without requiring the user&#39;s hands to move away from the keyboard  24  during a text entry operation or other operation. 
     One of the keys  28  is an &lt;ESCAPE&gt; key  31  which, when actuated, provides to the processor apparatus  16  an input that undoes the action which resulted from the immediately preceding input and/or moves the user to a logically higher position within a logical menu tree managed by a graphical user interface (GUI) routine  44 . The function provided by the &lt;ESCAPE&gt; key  31  can be used at generally any logical location within any portion of the logical menu tree. The &lt;ESCAPE&gt; key  31  is advantageously disposed adjacent the trackball  32  thereby enabling, for example, an unintended or incorrect input from the trackball  32  to be quickly undone, i.e., reversed, by an actuation of the adjacent &lt;ESCAPE&gt; key  31 . 
     Another of the keys  28  is a &lt;MENU&gt; key  33  which, when actuated, provides to the processor apparatus  16  an input that causes the GUI  44  to generate and output on the display  18  a menu such as is depicted in  FIG. 10 . Such a menu is appropriate to the user&#39;s current logical location within the logical menu tree, as will be described in greater detail below. It is noted that menus and other subject matter that is not directly related to the transliteration algorithm  44  is depicted in an exemplary fashion herein in the English language, although this is not intended to be limiting. 
     While in the depicted exemplary embodiment the multiple-axis input device is the trackball  32 , it is noted that multiple-axis input devices other than the trackball  32  can be employed without departing from the present concept. For instance, other appropriate multiple-axis input devices could include mechanical devices such as joysticks and the like and/or non-mechanical devices such as touch pads, track pads and the like and/or other devices which detect motion or input in other fashions, such as through the use of optical sensors or piezoelectric crystals. 
     The trackball  32  is freely rotatable in all directions with respect to the housing  6 . A rotation of the trackball  32  a predetermined rotational distance with respect to the housing  6  provides an input to the processor apparatus  16 , and such inputs can be employed by the routines  44 , for example, as navigational inputs, scrolling inputs, selection inputs, and other inputs. 
     For instance, and as can be seen in  FIG. 1 , the trackball  32  is rotatable about a horizontal axis  34 A to provide vertical scrolling, navigational, selection, or other inputs. Similarly, the trackball  32  is rotatable about a vertical axis  34 B to provide horizontal scrolling, navigational, selection, or other inputs. Since the trackball  32  is freely rotatable with respect to the housing  6 , the trackball  32  is additionally rotatable about any other axis (not expressly depicted herein) that lies within the plane of the page of  FIG. 1  or that extends out of the plane of the page of  FIG. 1 . 
     The trackball  32  can be said to be a multiple-axis input device because it provides scrolling, navigational, selection, and other inputs in a plurality of directions or with respect to a plurality of axes, such as providing inputs in both the vertical and the horizontal directions. It is reiterated that the trackball  32  is merely one of many multiple-axis input devices that could be employed on the mobile electronic device  4 . As such, mechanical alternatives to the trackball  32 , such as a joystick, might have a limited rotation with respect to the housing  6 , and non-mechanical alternatives might be immovable with respect to the housing  6 , yet all are capable of providing input in a plurality of directions and/or along a plurality of axes. 
     The trackball  32  additionally is translatable toward the housing  6 , i.e., into the plane of the page of  FIG. 1 , to provide additional inputs. The trackball  32  could be translated in such a fashion by, for example, a user applying an actuating force to the trackball  32  in a direction toward the housing  6 , such as by pressing on the trackball  32 . The inputs that are provided to the processor apparatus  16  as a result of a translation of the trackball  32  in the indicated fashion can be employed by the routines  44 , for example, as selection inputs, delimiter inputs, or other inputs. 
     The GUI  44  advantageously provides as an output a text input component  46  and a lookup component  48 . The text input component  46  typically includes a string of language objects, i.e., BoPoMoFo characters  56  in the exemplary embodiment herein, that correspond with the input from the keyboard  24 , or it can include a character interpretation of at least a portion of the input string, such as in the exemplary form of a number of Traditional Chinese characters  52  that have resulted from transliteration of some of the BoPoMoFo characters, or it can include both. That is, in certain circumstances portions of the series of BoPoMoFo characters  56 , i.e., inputs, that have been output on the display  18  are replaced at the text input component  46  with Chinese words comprising one or more Traditional Chinese characters  52 . 
     The lookup component  48  is in the nature of a lookup window that is output on the display  18  at a location that typically is different than that of the text input component  46 . The text lookup component  48  includes and displays a number of transliterated characters which, in the present example, are Traditional Chinese characters  60 . As a general matter, the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48  will each be a transliteration of at least a portion of the BoPoMoFo characters  56  in the text input component  46 . The specific nature of the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48  varies with the BoPoMoFo content of the text input component  46 . 
     For example,  FIG. 1  depicts two BoPoMoFo characters  56  in the text input component  46 , and these follow two Traditional Chinese characters  52  in the text input component  46 . The two Traditional Chinese characters  52  have been transliterated from and have replaced earlier BoPoMoFo inputs in the series of BoPoMoFo inputs that is being depicted in  FIG. 1 . The two unconverted BoPoMoFo characters  56  in  FIG. 1  can be validly transliterated into any of a plurality of Traditional Chinese characters, i.e., the Traditional Chinese characters  60  that are output in the lookup component  48 . 
     As is generally understood, a Traditional Chinese character can be transliterated from at most a string of three BoPoMoFo characters, i.e., a string of BoPoMoFo characters up to three BoPoMoFo characters in length, plus an optional tone, although the same string of BoPoMoFo characters can also be transliterated into a number of other single Traditional Chinese characters. 
     As mentioned above, the string of two BoPoMoFo characters  56  in  FIG. 1  can be transliterated into any one of the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48  of the same figure. The situation in  FIG. 1  is that the user has entered a series of BoPoMoFo characters, and whereas some of the BoPoMoFo characters at the beginning of the series have already been transliterated into and replaced with the two Traditional Chinese characters  52  in the text input component  46 , the two most recently input BoPoMoFo characters  56  have not yet been replaced in the text input component  46  with a transliteration thereof. It is noted, however, that the aforementioned two BoPoMoFo characters  56  have, in fact, been transliterated, and the various alternative transliterations are the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48 . In the example of  FIG. 1 , the two BoPoMoFo characters  56  can be validly transliterated into any one of the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48 , meaning that each of the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48  corresponds in the character table  42  with the two BoPoMoFo characters  56 . In other situations, it may be the case that the two BoPoMoFo characters in the text input component  46  do not directly correspond with any Traditional Chinese characters, but would validly constitute the first two BoPoMoFo characters of a Traditional Chinese character that comprises three BoPoMoFo characters. In such a situation, the identified Traditional Chinese characters would be output in the lookup component  48  as predictions of the Traditional Chinese characters that the user may be intending to type with the addition of one more BoPoMoFo input. In this situation, the user could select one of the Traditional Chinese character predictions in the lookup component  48 , with the result that the selected Traditional Chinese character  60  would be output in the text input component  46  in place of the BoPoMoFo characters  56  that are currently being output there. In other situations, however, the user may simply continue to input BoPoMoFo characters with the result that the BoPoMoFo input will ultimately be transliterated and replaced in the text input component  46  with Traditional Chinese characters from the character table  42 . 
     As such, while the lookup component  48  is provided in certain circumstances to enable a user to select a particular Traditional Chinese character that may be desired, whether a direct transliteration or a predictive transliteration, the user need not affirmatively select such Traditional Chinese characters in order to provide Chinese input on the mobile electronic device  4 . Rather, the user can input Traditional Chinese characters onto the mobile electronic device  4  merely by inputting BoPoMoFo characters, such as with the use of the keyboard  24 , which will automatically be transliterated into Traditional Chinese characters. 
     While the transliteration routine  44  provides transliterations of BoPoMoFo inputs and replaces BoPoMoFo inputs in the text input component  46  with transliterated Traditional Chinese characters, it is noted that these two operations are not necessarily performed contemporaneously. That is, in certain circumstances BoPoMoFo input is transliterated into Traditional Chinese characters that are output as the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48 . Such a transliteration does not, however, necessarily automatically result in the BoPoMoFo characters  56  in the text input component  46  actually being replaced with a Traditional Chinese character as a conversion thereof into Traditional Chinese characters. 
     More particularly, it is reiterated that some of the key  28  have a plurality of BoPoMoFo characters  26  assigned thereto. The user can multitap between the two BoPoMoFo characters  26  on such keys, with an initial actuation resulting in an input of the uppermost or leftmost BoPoMoFo character  26  on the key  28 , and with a reactuation of the same key within a predetermined period of time resulting in a the alternate BoPoMoFo character  26  on the key  28  (sometimes referred to herein as a FLIP operation). The predetermined period of time can be, for example, one-half a second, although other predetermined periods of time can be appropriately employed. Additional actuations of such a key  28  within the predetermined period of time of the immediately preceding actuation enable the user to toggle between the two BoPoMoFo characters  26  assigned to the key  28 . 
     It can be seen, therefore, that a single actuation of one of the keys  28  having a plurality of BoPoMoFo characters  26  assigned thereto can be said to be uncertain or ambiguous within the predetermined period of time since the user could reactuate the key  28  to input an alternate BoPoMoFo character  26  assigned to the same key  28 . As a general matter, therefore, an input of a BoPoMoFo character  26  from one of the keys  28  having a plurality of BoPoMoFo characters  26  assigned thereto will generally not be processed by the transliteration routine  44 , or will at least not result in an updating of the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48  to reflect the additional BoPoMoFo input, until the additional BoPoMoFo input is finalized in some fashion. 
     Two exemplary finalization events that result in the finalization of a BoPoMoFo input are described herein, but it is understood that other finalization events that are not expressly depicted herein can be employed without departing from the present concept. One exemplary finalization event is an expiration of the predetermined period of time from the most recent BoPoMoFo input without a detection of another BoPoMoFo input. For example, a given BoPoMoFo input can be considered to be a current BoPoMoFo input which, if unchanged by a reactuation of the same key  28  within the predetermined period of time, will become finalized upon an expiration of the predetermined period of time from its input. Another exemplary finalization event would be a detected input of a BoPoMoFo character  26  from an actuation of a different key. For example, an actuation of one key  28  having a plurality of BoPoMoFo characters  26  assigned thereto will result in one of the BoPoMoFo characters  26  assigned to that one key  28  being a current input, and a detection of a BoPoMoFo input due to an actuation of a different key  28  will finalize the aforementioned current input. For the sake of completeness, it is noted that such an inputting of a BoPoMoFo character  26  from a different key  28  would, in order to be a finalization event, need to be detected within the predetermined period of time of the immediately preceding BoPoMoFo input, otherwise the immediately preceding BoPoMoFo input would have been already finalized by the detection of the expiration of the predetermined period of time as a finalization event of the current BoPoMoFo input. 
     Upon a detection of a finalization event, such as the two aforementioned exemplary finalization events, the current BoPoMoFo input and any preceding BoPoMoFo inputs that have not yet been converted into a Traditional Chinese character, such as a Traditional Chinese character  52  in the text input component  46 , will be input into the transliteration routine  44  and will be transliterated. That is, in the present exemplary embodiment the string of BoPoMoFo inputs  56  will be the subject of a search of the character table  42  and will, if valid, result in the returning from the dictionary  42  of a number of matching Traditional Chinese characters  60  that are output in the lookup component  48 . Such Traditional Chinese characters  60  are each a transliteration of the string of BoPoMoFo characters that was submitted to the transliteration routine  44 . Advantageously, therefore, the refraining from changing the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48  until a BoPoMoFo input has been finalized avoids distracting the user with an outputting of Traditional Chinese characters that are based upon ambiguous, i.e., unfinalized BoPoMoFo inputs and may not be anything like what the user intended. The avoidance of such a distraction facilitates input by enabling a user to concentrate on the inputting effort without being distracted by outputs that are not useful. 
     As mentioned above, the outputting of proposed transliterations in the lookup component  48  of input that is depicted in the text input component  46  does not necessarily result in a conversion of the BoPoMoFo input, in the present example, into a specific Traditional Chinese character, such as one that might be among a plurality of proposed transliterations of the BoPoMoFo input in the lookup component  48 . Such a conversion of a number of BoPoMoFo characters  56  in the text input component  46  into a Traditional Chinese character  60  from the lookup component  48  would result in the Traditional Chinese character being output in the text input component  46  in place of the BoPoMoFo characters  56  and as a conversion thereof into a Traditional Chinese character. 
     Any of a number of events can be detected as conversion events which will trigger a conversion of at least a portion of the BoPoMoFo content of the text input component  46  into a Traditional Chinese character. For example, if a finalized BoPoMoFo input would be invalid in combination with one or two preceding unconverted BoPoMoFo inputs that alone are valid, and no additional BoPoMoFo input could make the combination valid, the preceding BoPoMoFo inputs will be converted into a Traditional Chinese character by the transliteration routine  44 . That is, one of the Traditional Chinese characters  60  that had been identified as a valid transliteration of the preceding BoPoMoFo characters  56  will be output in the text input component  46  in place of the preceding BoPoMoFo characters  56 . If the preceding BoPoMoFo characters  56  can be transliterated into a plurality of Traditional Chinese characters, the particular one of the plurality of Traditional Chinese characters that will be output in the text input component  46  as the conversion can be selected by the transliteration routine  44  according to any of a variety of criteria. In the exemplary system described herein, the Traditional Chinese character having a relatively highest frequency of usage will be output in the text input component  46  in place of the preceding BoPoMoFo characters  56  as a transliteration and a conversion thereof. Other selection criteria may be employed, however, without departing from the present concept. 
     Another such conversion event can be detected when three most recent BoPoMoFo characters can be transliterated into one or more Traditional Chinese characters, and the user has input an additional BoPoMoFo character, i.e., a fourth BoPoMoFo character. In such a situation, the three BoPoMoFo characters  56  in the text input component  46  will be replaced with a Traditional Chinese character as a transliteration thereof. Prior to the inputting of the fourth BoPoMoFo character, the proposed transliterations of the three BoPoMoFo characters may be output in the lookup component  48 , but conversion of the three BoPoMoFo characters  56  to one of the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48  is delayed in order to enable the user to affirmatively select one of the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48 , if desired. The inputting of the fourth BoPoMoFo character without such an affirmative selection of a Traditional Chinese character  60  in the lookup component  48  will be detected by the transliteration routine  44  as an implicit selection of, in the present example, the most frequently used Traditional Chinese character  60 , although other selection criteria can be employed without departing from the present concept. 
     By way of example,  FIG. 1  depicts the two BoPoMoFo characters  56  in the text input component  46  as having been finalized and with the lookup component  48  displaying a plurality of Traditional Chinese characters  60  that each constitutes a valid transliteration of the two BoPoMoFo characters  56 .  FIG. 3  depicts the detection of a third BoPoMoFo input prior to its finalization. For instance, the text input component  46  of  FIG. 3  is depicted as including three BoPoMoFo characters  56 , but the lookup component  48  is unchanged from that of  FIG. 1 . That is, the third BoPoMoFo character  56  is displayed in the text input component  46 , but since it is unfinalized the lookup component  48  remains unchanged. As mentioned above, this occurs in the exemplary embodiment depicted herein by not subjecting an unfinalized string of BoPoMoFo inputs to the transliteration routine  44 , although in other embodiments this could be accomplished despite processing with the transliteration routine  44  by simply not outputting in the lookup component  48  an updated set of Traditional Chinese characters  60  directed toward the unfinalized BoPoMoFo input. 
       FIG. 4  is similar to  FIG. 3 , except for depicting the result of a finalization of the third BoPoMoFo character  56  due to expiration of the predetermined period of time without detecting another BoPoMoFo input. As can be seen from  FIG. 4 , the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48  are different than those in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , which reflects the processing of all three of the BoPoMoFo characters  56  in the text input component  46  with the transliteration routine  44 . 
       FIG. 5  is similar to  FIG. 3 , except for depicting a reactuation of the key  28  that resulted in the inputting of the third BoPoMoFo character  56  in  FIG. 3 . That is, the third BoPoMoFo character  56  in  FIG. 3  is the subject of a FLIP operation since the key  28  which caused the inputting of the third BoPoMoFo character  52  in  FIG. 3  has been reactuated within the predetermined period of time to replace the third BoPoMoFo character  52  in  FIG. 3  with another third BoPoMoFo character  52  in the text input component  46  of  FIG. 5 . It is noted that the third BoPoMoFo character  56  is depicted in the text input component  46  of  FIG. 5  as having been finalized as a result of an expiration of the predetermined period of time after the reactuation of the key  28  that resulted in the input. It thus can be seen that the three BoPoMoFo characters  56  in  FIG. 5  have been subjected to the transliteration routine  44 , and the Traditional Chinese characters  60  of the lookup component  48  are each proposed transliterations of the three BoPoMoFo characters  56  of  FIG. 5 , and thus are different than the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48  of  FIG. 3 . 
     It is reiterated that  FIG. 4  depicts the third BoPoMoFo character  56  as having been finalized, with the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48  of  FIG. 4  each being a valid transliteration of the three BoPoMoFo characters  56 . However, the three BoPoMoFo characters in  FIG. 4  have not yet been converted to a Traditional Chinese character, i.e., the three BoPoMoFo characters  56  remain in the text input component  46  of  FIG. 4  without having been replaced with a transliteration thereof in the form of a Traditional Chinese character  60  from the lookup component  48 . As suggested above, this gives the user an opportunity to select a particular transliteration, i.e., a particular Traditional Chinese character  60 , from the lookup component  48 . If such a Traditional Chinese character  60  is affirmatively selected by the user, the three BoPoMoFo characters  56  will be converted to the selected Traditional Chinese character  60  and will be replaced in the text input component  46  with the selected Traditional Chinese character  60 . 
     If however, instead of affirmatively selecting one of the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48  of  FIG. 4 , the user instead continues to input BoPoMoFo characters, such as is indicated generally in  FIG. 6 , the additional input of a BoPoMoFo character will be detected as a conversion event which will cause the three BoPoMoFo characters  56  of  FIG. 4  to be automatically replaced in the text input component  46  with one of the Traditional Chinese characters  60  in the lookup component  48  of  FIG. 4 . Such a situation is likewise reflected in  FIG. 6  wherein the text input component  46  is now depicted as including three Traditional Chinese characters  52  and only a single BoPoMoFo character  56 . In the exemplary embodiment depicted in  FIG. 6 , the lookup component  48  includes a number of variants  64  which, in the depicted example, are each in the form of a variant  64  Chinese predicted word that comprises two Traditional Chinese characters. Each such variant  64  depicts, for example, a first Traditional Chinese character  68  and a second Traditional Chinese character  72 , with the first Traditional Chinese character  68  being an alternative transliteration of the previously converted character  52 . The second character  72  is both a predicted transliteration of the single BoPoMoFo character  56  as well as a predicted additional Traditional Chinese character to form the two-character predicted Chinese word. 
     It is noted that  FIG. 6  depicts the single BoPoMoFo character  56  as having been finalized due to an expiration of the predetermined period of time without detecting another BoPoMoFo input, thus resulting in the updated lookup component  48 .  FIG. 7  is similar to  FIG. 6  except depicting the single BoPoMoFo character  56  in the text input component  46  as having resulted from a double actuation of one of the keys  28 . That is,  FIG. 7  depicts one of the keys  28  as having been actuated and then reactuated within the predetermined period of time to result in the BoPoMoFo character  56  of  FIG. 7  being a flipped character.  FIG. 7  similarly depicts its single BoPoMoFo character  56  as having been finalized due to an expiration of the predetermined period of time without an additional BoPoMoFo input. It can also be seen that the single BoPoMoFo input  56  of  FIG. 7  has been processed with the transliteration routine  44 , thereby resulting in the lookup component  48 , which is different than the lookup component  48  of  FIG. 6  which resulted from processing of the different single BoPoMoFo character  56  with the transliteration routine  44 . 
       FIG. 8  depicts a flowchart illustrating some of the aspects of the finalization process which causes BoPoMoFo inputs to be processed by the transliteration routine  44 . Processing begins with a detection of an input of a BoPoMoFo character, as at  104 . The detected BoPoMoFo character is considered to be a current character and is output, as at  108 . It is determined, as at  112 , whether the current input resulted from an actuation of a key  28  that has a plurality of BoPoMoFo characters  26  assigned thereto. If the key  28  is determined at  112  to not have a plurality of the BoPoMoFo characters  26  assigned thereto, processing continues, as at  116 , where the current character is detected as being a finalized input, and processing thereafter continues, as at  120 , where the current character, i.e., a BoPoMoFo character, and any preceding unconverted BoPoMoFo characters in the series of inputs are subjected to the transliteration routine  44 . Processing thereafter continues, as at  124 , where the current BoPoMoFo character is output, such as in the text input component  46 , or a transliteration of at least the current BoPoMoFo is output, such as in the lookup component  48 , or both. Processing thereafter continues, as at  104 , where additional BoPoMoFo input can be detected. This aforementioned loop of the flowchart in  FIG. 8  depicts the situation wherein a BoPoMoFo input is unambiguous, and it is therefore unnecessary to await an occurrence of a finalization event. 
     On the other hand, if it is determined, as at  112 , that the key  28  that was most recently actuated to provide the current character has a plurality of BoPoMoFo characters  26  assigned thereto, processing continues, as at  128 , where it is determined whether or not the predetermined period of time has expired since the most recent BoPoMoFo input, i.e., whether or not it has expired without a detection of another BoPoMoFo input. If the predetermined period of time has expired, processing continues, as at  116  where the current character is detected as being finalized, and processing continues therefrom as set forth above. 
     On the other hand, if it is determined at  128  that the predetermined period of time has not expired, processing continues as at  132  where it is determined whether another BoPoMoFo input has been detected, it being reiterated that the processing at  132  occurs prior to the expiration of the predetermined period of time. If no input is detected at  132 , processing loops back to  108  where the current character is continued to be output. 
     However, if at  132  another BoPoMoFo input is detected, i.e., it is detected within the predetermined period of time, processing continues to  136  where it is determined whether the most recent input is a reactuation of a key  28 . If yes, processing continues at  140  where the current character is subjected to a FLIP operation wherein the current character is changed to be another character of the reactuated key. Processing continues, as at  108 , where the current character, i.e., the flipped character, is output. However, if it is determined at  136  that the most recent BoPoMoFo input is not a reactuation of a key  28 , i.e., it is an actuation of different key, a new BoPoMoFo character is output in the text input component  46 , as at  144 , and the current character, i.e., the BoPoMoFo character immediately preceding the new character, is detected at  116  as being a finalized input. Processing thereafter continues as set forth above. 
     It thus can be seen that the processing of newly input BoPoMoFo characters that are subject to possible change within the predetermined period of time is delayed until detection of a finalization event. Accordingly, the user is relieved of the distraction of having proposed transliterations of an unfinalized BoPoMoFo input being output on the display  18 . This facilitates input into the mobile electronic device  4 . 
     Additional benefits are provided by the multiple-axis input device. For instance, an exemplary home screen output that can be visually output on the display  18  is depicted in  FIG. 9  as including a plurality of icons  1062  that are selectable by the user for the purpose of, for example, initiating the execution on the processor apparatus  16  of a routine  44  that is represented by an icon  1062 . The trackball  32  is rotatable to provide, for example, navigational inputs among the icons  1062 . 
     For example,  FIG. 9  depicts the travel of an indicator  1066  from the icon  1062 A, as is indicated in broken lines with the indicator  1066 A, to the icon  1062 B, as is indicated in broken lines with the indicator  1066 B, and onward to the icon  1062 C, as is indicated by the indicator  1066 C. It is understood that the indicators  1066 A,  1066 B, and  1066 C are not necessarily intended to be simultaneously depicted on the display  18 , but rather are intended to together depict a series of situations and to indicate movement of the indicator  1066  among the icons  1062 . The particular location of the indicator  1066  at any given time indicates to a user the particular icon  1062 , for example, that is the subject of a selection focus of the mobile electronic device  4 . Whenever an icon  1062  or other selectable object is the subject of the selection focus, a selection input to the processor apparatus  16  will result in execution or initiation of the routine  44  or other function that is represented by the icon  1062  or other selectable object. 
     The movement of the indicator  1066  from the icon  1062 A, as indicated with the indicator  1066 A, to the icon  1062 B, as is indicated by the indicator  1066 B, was accomplished by rotating the trackball  32  about the vertical axis  34 B to provide a horizontal navigational input. As mentioned above, a rotation of the trackball  32  a predetermined rotational distance results in an input to the processor apparatus  16 . In the present example, the trackball  32  would have been rotated about the vertical axis  34 B a rotational distance equal to three times the predetermined rotational distance since the icon  62 B is disposed three icons  1062  to the right the icon  1062 A. Such rotation of the trackball  32  likely would have been made in a single motion by the user, but this need not necessarily be the case. 
     Similarly, the movement of the indicator  1066  from the icon  1062 B, as indicated by the indicator  1066 B, to the icon  1062 C, as is indicated by the indicator  1066 C, was accomplished by the user rotating the trackball  32  about the horizontal axis  34 A to provide a vertical navigational input. In so doing, the trackball  32  would have been rotated a rotational distance equal to two times the predetermined rotational distance since the icon  1062 C is disposed two icons  1062  below the icon  1062 B. Such rotation of the trackball  32  likely would have been made in a single motion by the user, but this need not necessarily be the case. 
     It thus can be seen that the trackball  32  is rotatable in various directions to provide various navigational and other inputs to the processor apparatus  16 . Rotational inputs by the trackball  32  typically are interpreted by whichever routine  44  is active on the mobile electronic device  4  as inputs that can be employed by such routine  44 . For example, the GUI  44  that is active on the mobile electronic device  4  in  FIG. 9  requires vertical and horizontal navigational inputs to move the indicator  1066 , and thus the selection focus, among the icons  1062 . If a user rotated the trackball  32  about an axis oblique to the horizontal axis  34 A and the vertical axis  34 B, the GUI  44  likely would resolve such an oblique rotation of the trackball  32  into vertical and horizontal components which could then be interpreted by the GUI  44  as vertical and horizontal navigational movements, respectively. In such a situation, if one of the resolved vertical and horizontal navigational movements is of a greater magnitude than the other, the resolved navigational movement having the greater magnitude would be employed by the GUI  44  as a navigational input in that direction to move the indicator  1066  and the selection focus, and the other resolved navigational movement would be ignored by the GUI  44 , for example. 
     When the indicator  1066  is disposed on the icon  1062 C, as is indicated by the indicator  1066 C, the selection focus of the mobile electronic device  4  is on the icon  1062 C. As such, a translation of the trackball  32  toward the housing  6  as described above would provide an input to the processor apparatus  16  that would be interpreted by the GUI  44  as a selection input with respect to the icon  1062 C. In response to such a selection input, the processor apparatus  16  would, for example, begin to execute a routine  44  that is represented by the icon  1062 C. It thus can be understood that the trackball  32  is rotatable to provide navigational and other inputs in multiple directions, assuming that the routine  44  that is currently active on the mobile electronic device  4  can employ such navigational or other inputs in a plurality of directions, and can also be translated to provide a selection input or other input. 
     As mentioned above,  FIG. 10  depicts an exemplary menu  1035 A that would be appropriate if the user&#39;s current logical location within the logical menu tree was viewing an email within an email routine  44 . That is, the menu  1035 A provides selectable options that would be appropriate for a user given that the user is, for example, viewing an email within an email routine  44 . In a similar fashion,  FIG. 11  depicts another exemplary menu  1035 B that would be depicted if the user&#39;s current logical location within the logical menu tree was within a telephone routine  44 . 
     Rotational movement inputs from the trackball  32  could be employed to navigate among, for example, the menus  1035 A and  1035 B. For instance, after an actuation of the &lt;MENU&gt; key  33  and an outputting by the GUI  44  of a resultant menu, the user could rotate the trackball  32  to provide scrolling inputs to successively highlight the various selectable options within the menu. Once the desired selectable option is highlighted, i.e., is the subject of the selection focus, the user could translate the trackball  32  toward the housing  6  to provide a selection input as to the highlighted selectable option. In this regard, it is noted that the &lt;MENU&gt; key  33  is advantageously disposed adjacent the trackball  32 . This enables, for instance, the generation of a menu by an actuation the &lt;MENU&gt; key  33 , conveniently followed by a rotation the trackball  32  to highlight a desired selectable option, for instance, followed by a translation of the trackball  32  toward the housing  6  to provide a selection input to initiate the operation represented by the highlighted selectable option. 
     It is further noted that one of the additional inputs that can be provided by a translation of the trackball  32  is an input that causes the GUI  44  to output a reduced menu. For instance, a translation of the trackball  32  toward the housing  6  could result in the generation and output of a more limited version of a menu than would have been generated if the &lt;MENU&gt; key  33  had instead been actuated. Such a reduced menu would therefore be appropriate to the user&#39;s current logical location within the logical menu tree and would provide those selectable options which the user would have a high likelihood of selecting. Rotational movements of the trackball  32  could provide scrolling inputs to scroll among the selectable options within the reduced menu  1035 C, and translation movements of the trackball  32  could provide selection inputs to initiate whatever function is represented by the selectable option within the reduce menu  1035 C that is currently highlighted. 
     By way of example, if instead of actuating the &lt;MENU&gt; key  33  to generate the menu  1035 A the user translated the trackball  32 , the GUI  44  would generate and output on the display the reduced menu  1035 C that is depicted generally in  FIG. 12 . The exemplary reduced menu  1035 C provides as selectable options a number of the selectable options from the menu  1035 A that the user would be most likely to select. As such, a user seeking to perform a relatively routine function could, instead of actuating the &lt;MENU&gt; key  33  to display the full menu  1035 A, translate the trackball  32  to generate and output the reduced menu  1035 C. The user could then conveniently rotate the trackball  32  to provide scrolling inputs to highlight a desired selectable option, and could then translate the trackball  32  to provide a selection input which would initiate the function represented by the selectable option in the reduced menu  1035 C that is currently highlighted. 
     In the present exemplary embodiment, many of the menus that could be generated as a result of an actuation of the &lt;MENU&gt; key  33  could instead be generated and output in reduced form as a reduced menu in response to a translation of the trackball  32  toward the housing  6 . It is noted, however, that a reduced menu might not be available for each full menu that could be generated from an actuation of the &lt;MENU&gt; key  33 . Depending upon the user&#39;s specific logical location within the logical menu tree, a translation of the trackball  32  might be interpreted as a selection input rather than an input seeking a reduced menu. For instance, a translation of the trackball  32  on the home screen depicted in  FIG. 1  would result in a selection input as to whichever of the icons  1062  is the subject of the input focus. If the &lt;MENU&gt; key  33  was actuated on the home screen, the GUI  44  would output a menu appropriate to the home screen, such as a full menu of all of the functions that are available on the mobile electronic device  4 , including those that might not be represented by icons  1062  on the home screen. 
       FIG. 13  depicts a quantity of text that is output on the display  18 , such as during a text entry operation or during a text editing operation, for example. The indicator  1066  is depicted in  FIG. 13  as being initially over the character “L”, as is indicated with the indicator  1066 D, and having been moved horizontally to the character “I”, as is indicated by the indicator  1066 E, and thereafter vertically moved to the character “W”, as is indicated by the indicator  1066 F. In a fashion similar to that in  FIG. 9 , the cursor  1066  was moved among the characters “L”, “I”, and “W” through the use of horizontal and vertical navigational inputs resulting from rotations of the trackball  32 . In the example of  FIG. 13 , however, each rotation of the trackball  32  the predetermined rotational distance would move the indicator  1066  to the next adjacent character. As such, in moving the indicator  1066  between the characters “L” and “I,” the user would have rotated the trackball  32  about the vertical axis  1034 B a rotational distance equal to nine times the predetermined rotational distance, for example, since “I” is disposed nine characters to the right of “L”. 
       FIG. 14  depicts an output  1064  on the display  18  during, for example, a text entry operation that employs the disambiguation routine  44 . The output  1064  can be said to comprise a text component  1068  and a variant component  1072 . The variant component  1072  comprises a default portion  1076  and a variant portion  1080 .  FIG. 14  depicts the indicator  1066 G on the variant  1080  “HAV”, such as would result from a rotation of the trackball  32  about the horizontal axis  34 A to provide a downward vertical scrolling input. In this regard, it is understood that a rotation of the trackball  32  a distance equal to the predetermined rotational distance would have moved the indicator  1066  from a position (not expressly depicted herein) disposed on the default portion  1076  to the position disposed on the first variant  1080 , as is depicted in  FIG. 14 . Since such a rotation of the trackball  32  resulted in the first variant  1080  “HAV” being highlighted with the indicator  1066 G, the text component  1068  likewise includes the text “HAV” immediately preceding a cursor  1084 A. 
       FIG. 15  depict an alternative output  1064 A having an alternative variant component  1072 A having a default portion  1076 A and a variant portion  1080 A. The variant component  1072 A is horizontally arranged, meaning that the default portion  1076 A and the variants  1080 A are disposed horizontally adjacent one another and can be sequentially selected by the user through the use of horizontal scrolling inputs, such as by the user rotating the trackball  32  the predetermined rotational distance about the vertical axis  34 B. This is to be contrasted with the variant component  1072  of  FIG. 14  wherein the default portion  1076  and the variants  1080  are vertically arranged, and which can be sequentially selected by the user through the user of vertical scrolling inputs with the trackball  32 . 
     In this regard, it can be understood that the trackball  32  can provide both the vertical scrolling inputs employed in conjunction with the output  1064  as well as the horizontal scrolling inputs employed in conjunction with the output  1064 A. For instance, the disambiguation routine  44  potentially could allow the user to customize the operation thereof by electing between the vertically arranged variant component  1072  and the horizontally arranged variant component  1072 A. The trackball  32  can provide scrolling inputs in the vertical direction and/or the horizontal direction, as needed, and thus is operable to provide appropriate scrolling inputs regardless of whether the user chooses the variant component  1072  or the variant component  1072 A. That is, the trackball  32  can be rotated about the horizontal axis  34 A to provide the vertical scrolling inputs employed in conjunction with the variant component  1072 , and also can be rotated about the vertical axis  34 B to provide the horizontal scrolling inputs that are employed in conjunction with the variant component  1064 A. The trackball  32  thus could provide appropriate navigational, strolling, selection, and other inputs depending upon the needs of the routine  44  active at any time on the mobile electronic device  4 . The trackball  32  enables such navigational, strolling, selection, and other inputs to be intuitively generated by the user through rotations of the trackball  32  in directions appropriate to the active routine  44 , such as might be indicated on the display  18 . 
     It can further be seen from  FIG. 15  that the variant component  1072 A additionally includes a value  1081  that is indicative of the language into which the disambiguation routine  44  will interpret ambiguous text input. In the example depicted in  FIG. 15 , the language is English. 
     As can be seen in  FIG. 16 , the value  1081  can be selected by the user to cause the displaying of a list  1083  of alternative values  1085 . The alternative values  1085  are indicative of selectable alternative languages into which the disambiguation routine  44  can interpret ambiguous input. A selection of the value  1081  would have been achieved, for example, by the user providing horizontal scrolling inputs with the trackball  32  to cause (not expressly depicted herein) the indicator  1066  to be disposed over the value  1081 , and by thereafter translating the trackball  32  toward the housing  6  to provide a selection input. 
     The alternative values  1085  in the list  1083  are vertically arranged with respect to one another and with respect to the value  1081 . As such, a vertical scrolling input with the trackball  32  can result in a vertical movement of the indicator  10661  to a position on one of the alternative values  1085  which, in the present example, is the alternative value  1085  “FR”, which is representative of the French language. The alternative value  1085  “FR” could become selected by the user in any of a variety of fashions, such as by actuating the trackball  32  again, by continuing to enter text, or in other fashions. It thus can be understood from  FIG. 15  and  FIG. 16  that the trackball  32  can be rotated to provide horizontal scrolling inputs and, when appropriate, to additionally provide vertical scrolling inputs and, when appropriate, to additionally provide selection inputs, for example. 
       FIG. 17  depicts another exemplary output on the display  18  such as might be employed by a data entry routine  44 . The exemplary output of  FIG. 17  comprises a plurality of input fields  1087  with corresponding descriptions. A cursor  1084 D, when disposed within one of the input fields  1087 , indicates to the user that an input focus of the mobile electronic device  4  is on that input field  1087 . That is, data such as text, numbers, symbols, and the like, will be entered into whichever input field  1087  is active, i.e., is the subject of the input focus. It is understood that the mobile electronic device  4  might perform other operations or take other actions depending upon which input field  1087  is the subject of the input focus. 
     Navigational inputs from the trackball  32  advantageously enable the cursor  1084 D, and thus the input focus, to be switched, i.e., shifted, among the various input fields  1087 . For example, the input fields  1087  could include the input fields  1087 A,  1087 B, and  1087 C.  FIG. 17  depicts the cursor  1084 D as being disposed in the input field  1087 C, indicating that the input field  1087 C is the subject of the input focus of the mobile electronic device  4 . It is understood that the cursor  1084 D, and thus the input focus, can be shifted from the input field  1087 C to the input field  1087 A, which is disposed adjacent and vertically above the input field  1087 C, by providing a vertical scrolling input in the upward direction with the trackball  32 . That is, the trackball  32  would be rotated the predetermined rotational distance about the horizontal axis  34 . Similarly, the cursor  1084 D, and thus the input focus, can be shifted from the input field  1087 A to the input field  1087 B, which is disposed adjacent and to the right of the input field  1087 A, by providing a horizontal scrolling input to the right with the trackball  32 . That is, such a horizontal scrolling input could be provided by rotating the trackball the predetermined rotational distance about the vertical axis  34 B. It thus can be seen that the trackball  32  is rotatable in a plurality of directions about a plurality axes to provide navigational, scrolling, and other inputs in a plurality of directions among a plurality of input fields  1087 . Other types of inputs and/or inputs in other applications will be apparent. 
     An improved mobile electronic device  2004  in accordance with still another embodiment of the disclosed and claimed concept is depicted generally in  FIG. 18  and  FIG. 19 . The mobile electronic device  2004  includes a housing  2006  upon which are disposed an input apparatus  2008 , an output apparatus  2012 , and a processor apparatus  2016 . The processor apparatus  2016  comprises a processor  2036  a memory  2040  having stored therein a number of routines  2044 . All of the operations that can be performed on or with the mobile electronic device  4  can be performed on or with the mobile electronic device  2004 . As such, the features of the mobile electronic device  2004  that are common with the mobile electronic device  4 , and this would comprise essentially all of the features of the mobile electronic device  4 , will generally not be repeated. 
     As a general matter, the mobile electronic device  2004  is substantially identical in configuration and function to the mobile electronic device  4 , except that the mobile electronic device  2004  includes a touch screen display  2055  that provides a non-mechanical multiple-axis input device  2032  instead of the trackball  32 . The non-mechanical multiple-axis input device  2032  can be said to be in the form of a virtual trackball  2032 . 
     As is generally understood, the touch screen display  2055  includes a liquid crystal layer between a pair of substrates, with each substrate including an electrode. The electrodes form a grid which defines the aperture size of the pixels. When a charge is applied to the electrodes, the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer become aligned generally perpendicular to the two substrates. A display input/output subassembly  2053  of the output apparatus  2012  controls the location of the charge applied to the electrodes thereby enabling the formation of images on the touch screen display  2055 . 
     Additionally, the touch screen display  2055  comprises a sensor assembly  2057  which comprises an output device  2059  and a plurality of detectors  2061 . The detectors  2061  are shown schematically and are typically too small to be seen by the naked eye. Each detector  2061  is in electrical communication with the output device  2059  and creates an output signal when actuated. The detectors  2061  are disposed in a pattern, discussed below, and are structured to detect an external object immediately adjacent to, or touching, the touch screen display  2055 . The external object is typically a stylus or a user&#39;s finger (not shown). The output device  2059  and/or the processor  2016  are structured to receive the detector signals and convert the signals to data representing the location of the external object relative to the touch screen display  2055 . As such, while the sensor assembly  2057  is physically a component of the touch screen display  2055 , it is nevertheless considered to be a logical component of the input apparatus  2008  since it provides input to the processor apparatus. 
     The detectors  2061  are typically capacitive detectors, optical detectors, resistive detectors, or mechanical detectors such as strain gauge or charged grid, although other technologies may be employed without departing from the present concept. Typically, capacitive detectors are structured to detect a change in capacitance caused by the electrical field of the external object or a change in capacitance caused by the compression of the capacitive detector. Optical detectors are structured to detect a reflection of light, e.g., light created by the touch screen display  2055 . Mechanical detectors include a charged grid with columns that would be disposed on one side of the touch screen display  2055  and a corresponding grid without columns would be disposed at another location on the touch screen display  2055 . In such a configuration, when the touch screen display  2055  is compressed, i.e. as a result of being touched by the user, the columns at the area of compression contact the opposing grid thereby completing a circuit. 
     Capacitive detectors may be disposed upon either substrate and, although small, require space. Thus, and any pixel that is disposed adjacent a detector  2061  will have a reduced size, or aperture, to accommodate the adjacent detector  2061 . 
     The detectors  2061  are disposed in a pattern, and at least some of the detectors  2061  preferably are arranged in lines that form a grid. A first portion of the detectors  2061  are disposed on a first area  2081  of the touch screen display  2055 , and a second portion of the detectors  2061  are disposed on a second area  2083  of the touch screen display  2055 . As can be seen from  FIG. 18 , the first area  2081  essentially is every region of the touch screen display  2005  other than the second area  2083 . 
     The first portion of the detectors  2061  disposed on the first area  2081  of the touch screen display  2055  are disposed in a relatively sparse pattern in order to minimize the visual interference that is caused by the presence of the detectors  2061  adjacent the pixels. Preferably, the spacing of the detectors  2061  on the first area  2081  is between about 1.0 mm and 10.0 mm between the detectors  2061 , and more preferably about 3.0 mm between the detectors  2061 . 
     The second portion of the detectors  2061  are disposed in a relatively dense pattern on the second area  2083  of the touch screen display  2055  and are structured to support the function of the virtual trackball  2032 . The image quality in the second area  2083  of the touch screen display  2055  is adversely affected due to the dense spacing of the detectors  2061  there. However, the second area  2083  is a relatively small area compared to the entire touch screen display  2055 . Preferably, the density of the detectors  2061  in the second area  2083  is between about 0.05 mm and 3.0 mm between the detectors, and more preferably about 0.1 mm between the detectors  2061 . Further, because the pixels in the second area  2083  are dedicated for the virtual trackball  2032 , it is acceptable to have a reduced pixel density with larger pixels. Since the pixel size would be very large, the aspect ratio would be significantly higher than that of pixels that are not disposed adjacent a detector  2061 . The pixels in the second area  2083  likely would be special function pixels, such as pixels that would both depict the virtual trackball  2032  and that would light up the second area  2083  to highlight the virtual trackball  2032 . 
     The processor apparatus is structured to create images and define the boundaries of selectable portions of the images on the touch screen display  2055 . For example, the processor apparatus will create the images of selectable icons or other objects on specific portions of the touch screen display  2055 . The processor apparatus is further structured to relate specific detectors  2061  to the specific portions of the touch screen display  2055 . Thus, when the processor apparatus detects the actuation of a specific detector  2061  adjacent to a specific image, e.g. a selectable icon, the processor apparatus will initiate the function or routine related to that icon, e.g. opening a calendar program. 
     Similarly, the processor apparatus is structured to employ specific detectors  2061  to support the function of the virtual trackball  2032  in the second area  2083  of the touch screen display  2055 . Thus, actuations of one or more of the detectors  2061  that support the virtual trackball  2032  will be interpreted by the processor apparatus as being inputs from the virtual trackball  2032 . For instance, an actuation of a sequential plurality of detectors  2061  extending along a particular direction on the touch screen display  2055  in the second area  2083  might be interpreted as a navigational input, a scrolling input, a selection input, and/or another input in the particular direction. Since the user can freely move a finger, for instance, in any direction on the touch screen display  2055 , the virtual trackball  2032  is a multiple-axis input device. Other inputs, such as a non-moving actuation of one or more detectors  2061  in the central region of the virtual trackball  2032  could be interpreted by the processor apparatus as an actuation input of the virtual trackball  2032 , such as would be generated by an actuation of the trackball  32  of the mobile electronic device  1004  in a direction toward the housing  1006  thereof. It can be understood that other types of actuations of the detectors  2061  in the second area  2083  can be interpreted as various other inputs without departing from the disclosed and claimed concept. 
     The mobile electronic device  2004  thus comprises a multiple-axis input device  2032  that is non-mechanical but that still provides the same functional features and advantages as, say, the trackball  32  of the mobile electronic device  4 . It is understood that the virtual trackball  2032  is but one example of the many types of multiple-axis input devices that could be employed on the mobile electronic device  2004 . 
     While specific embodiments of the disclosed and claimed concept have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the disclosed and claimed concept which is to be given the full breadth of the claims appended and any and all equivalents thereof.