Patent ID: 8599148

Claim:
A mobile terminal comprising: a display for sensing at least a touch on the display or an approach of a pointing means proximate to a sensed area on the display; and a controller for controlling brightness of the display at the sensed area according to the touch or the approach of the pointing means, the controller configured to: apply an illumination only to the sensed area where the approach of the pointing means is sensed while the mobile terminal is in a standby mode in which a display light of the display is turned off, wherein a radius of the illumination is a preset value, and the illumination generates a searchlight effect; expand the radius of the illumination in proportion to a duration of the pointing means detected at the sensed area, such that a size of the illumination generating the searchlight effect remains smaller than a size of the display; and reduce the brightness of the display at the sensed area in response to an increase in a distance from the sensed area to the pointing means.