Patent ID: 8270946

Claim:
A mobile terminal including a touch sensor, characterized by comprising: a control unit that controls the mobile terminal; a determination unit that determines presence or absence of contact with the touch sensor that is provided at any position where a user's hand contacts the mobile terminal when the user holds the mobile terminal; and a switching unit that switches control over the mobile terminal, wherein the control over the mobile terminal is switched by the switching unit on the basis of results of a determination obtained from the determination unit, characterized in that: when the touch sensor is not contacted, the mobile terminal shifts to a preset lock mode, wherein the switching unit switches the control to limit control for normal operation or to add other control to the control for normal operation, and wherein a certain time related to a shift to the lock mode is longer than a certain time which the contact with the touch sensor is continued, and when the touch sensor is contacted, the mobile terminal performs a turn-off process for turning off the lock mode to provide normal control over the mobile terminal, wherein the switching unit switches the control to provide the control for normal operation.