Patent ID: 8866743

Claim:
A handheld electronic communication device having one or more software applications thereon, the handheld electronic communication device having a navigation tool assembly that is manipulated by a user to control movement of a selection or position indicator on a display of the handheld electronic communication device, the handheld electronic communication device comprising: a rotational member; a support structure that enables the rotational member to rotate about a plurality of axes; a sensor which senses rotation of the rotational member about a first axis and generates sensor electrical signals; a microprocessor that communicates with the sensor and executes the one or more software applications running on the handheld electronic device, the microprocessor including computer instructions, which upon execution, cause the microprocessor to: receive the sensor electrical signals; enable selection of a first application, the first application having first properties for controlling the rotational member to facilitate navigation of the selection or position indicator on the display, the first properties identifying a frequently selected menu item or icon of the first application having a first importance value above a threshold; enable selection of a second application, the second application having second properties for controlling the rotational member to facilitate navigation of the selection or position indicator on the display, the second properties identifying a frequently selected menu item or icon of the second application having a second importance value above the threshold, the second properties being different than the first properties; and generate navigation electric signals in response to the sensor electrical signals, the navigation electric signals being generated using one of the first properties or the second properties; and a first drag-inducing member that receives the navigation electric signals to actuate and deactuate a rotational drag force on the rotational member, the rotational drag force restricting rotation of the rotational member about the first axis in order to restrict a range of freedom of the rotational member from the plurality of axes based on the threshold and at least one of the first importance value and the second importance value to facilitate navigation of the selection or position indicator to a next incremental menu item or icon presented on the display by a selected application run on the device.