Patent ID: 7808486

Claim:
A method of facilitating the input of information in a handheld electronic device having a plurality of input elements, comprising: receiving a signal indicating that a particular one of said input elements is being touched in a first manner, said particular one of said input elements having a plurality of characters or symbols assigned thereto and having a plurality of feedback signals and a plurality of functions associated therewith, wherein each one of said plurality of feedback signals corresponds to a particular one or more of said plurality of characters or symbols assigned to said particular one of said input elements; providing a particular feedback signal that identifies at least one of said plurality of characters or symbols of said particular one of said input elements after said signal is received, said particular feedback signal being one of said plurality of feedback signals, said particular feedback signal being chosen based upon a current operating state of said handheld electronic device; and performing a particular function associated with said particular one of said input elements when said particular one of said input elements is being touched in a second manner, said particular function being one of said plurality of functions, said particular function being determined based upon said current operating state of said handheld electronic device.