Patent ID: 7417566

Claim:
A device for receiving input characters, comprising a keypad comprising a plurality of keys arranged as a numeric phone keypad, wherein each key has a surface thereon for displaying indicia, said plurality of keys arranged in rows and columns, wherein the keypad is divided into an upper section of at least two rows forming a first keypad array and a lower section of at least two rows forming a second keypad array; indicia located on the surface of said plurality of keys comprising a first plurality of characters arranged as a plurality of character arrays on the first keypad array representing a first language and a second plurality of characters arranged as a plurality of character arrays on the second keypad array representing a second language; such that when the character array is located in the upper section, it comprises characters mapped by relative location to the first keypad array, and when the character array is located on the lower section, it comprises characters mapped by relative location to the second keypad array; and a processor for receiving sequential two-key input of a first selection of one of the plurality of keys to designate a selected character array followed by a second selection of one of the plurality of keys to designate a selected character within the character array.