Patent ID: 7856603

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a display screen; a symbol generator that generates for display on the display screen a set of first graphical symbols in a 3 by 3 matrix arrangement; wherein at least one of the first graphical symbols indicates a first set of alphabetic characters in alphabetic order; a selector for selection of graphical symbols on the display screen, the selector including a movable cursor that is displayed on the display screen at the center of the 3 by 3 matrix arrangement; and a controller, connected to the symbol generator and the selector, that controls the symbol generator to display a set of second graphical symbols corresponding to one of the first graphical symbols by replacing the set of first graphical symbols in the 3 by 3 matrix arrangement with the set of second graphical symbols responsive to a graphical sign constituted by at least one line segment drawn on the display screen with the movable cursor from the center of the 3 by 3 matrix arrangement to one of the first graphical symbols, the at least one line segment is displayed on the display screen overlying the 3 by 3 matrix arrangement; wherein the movable cursor is repositioned to the center of the 3 by 3 matrix arrangement after replacing the set of first graphical symbols in the 3 by 3 matrix arrangement with the set of second graphical symbols.