Patent ID: 8446371

Claim:
A handheld electronic device comprising: a microprocessor housed within a body of the device that includes a display area on which information is displayed and a contact-sensitive area that detects contact engagement therewith and produces instruction data based thereupon; a microprocessor-run software program programmed to receive instruction data from said contact-sensitive area; said contact-sensitive area having a home zone area and a plurality of activity launch zone areas; displaying on a display area a corresponding home zone area and a plurality of activity launch zone areas; said software program programmed to process said instruction data and determine sweeping contact motion detected on said contact-sensitive area originating at the home zone area and terminating at one of the plurality of activity launch zone areas and to responsively launch an application corresponding to the activity launch zone area at which the sweeping contact motion terminated; in response to the launched application, said contact-sensitive area having at least two additional home zone areas and a plurality of activity launch zone areas with each activity launch zone area having an associated function corresponding to the launched application: software program programmed to process said instruction data and determine sweeping contact motion detected on said contact-sensitive area originating at one of the additional home zone areas and terminating at one of the plurality of activity launch zone areas and to responsively execute a the function corresponding to the launched application and activity launch zone area at which the sweeping contact motioned terminated.