Handheld electronic device and associated method enabling phonetic text input in a text disambiguation environment and outputting an improved lookup window

Abstract

An improved handheld electronic device and associated method enable the phonetic inputting of text using a reduced keyboard and transformation algorithm. The handheld electronic device and method advantageously enable the inputting of languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and the like without limitation. The transformation algorithm subjects each of a number of linguistic element permutations to an algorithm such as the Maximum Matching Algorithm or other algorithm to generate a string of words and selects one string of words as a default textual output. The character interpretation and variations thereof are output in a lookup component along with a pin and variants thereof to enable the user to select among various character interpretations of an input as well as various alternative pins that correspond with the input.

1 - 21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 . A method of enabling input on a handheld electronic device that comprises a display, the method comprising:
 detecting an input comprising one or more selections of one or more input keys;   outputting at least one language object that corresponds with at least a first portion of the input and at least one variant language object as an alternative to the at least one language object in a first region of the display;   outputting one or more words comprising characters that correspond with at least a portion of the input in a second region of the display;   in response to detecting a selection of the at least one language object or the at least one variant language object, outputting at least one second language object that corresponds with at least a second portion of the input and at least one second variant language object in the first region, wherein the second portion of the input comprises at least one different portion of the input than the first portion of the input.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising outputting a string of language objects at a text input location on the display and, responsive to a selection of at least some of the one or more words, replacing the string of language objects at the text input location with the at least some of the one or more words. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising outputting the at least one language object, the at least one variant language object, and the one or more words as objects that are selectable by one or more predetermined inputs. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising:
 outputting a lookup window comprising as output components the at least one language object, the at least one variant language object, and the one or more words;   applying a selection focus to one of the at least one language object, the at least one variant language object, or at least some of the one or more words; and   detecting a navigational input and, responsive thereto, shifting the selection focus to another of the at least one language object, the at least one variant language object, or the at least some of the one or more words.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising detecting a selection input and, responsive thereto, and when the navigational input had resulted in a shifting of the selection focus to the at least one variant language object, outputting one or more words comprising characters that correspond with the at least one variant language object. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising detecting a selection input and, responsive thereto, and when the navigational input had resulted in a shifting of the selection focus to the at least some of the one or more words, outputting the at least some of the one or more words at a text input location on the display. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising outputting as the one or more words a default interpretation and at least one variant interpretation as an alternative to at least a portion of the default interpretation. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , further comprising outputting a string of language objects at a text input location on the display and, responsive to a selection of the at least one variant interpretation, outputting the at least one variant interpretation at the text input location. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising detecting as the input a text input comprising characters from a first alphabet, and outputting as the one or more words a number of words comprising characters from a second alphabet. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising detecting as the input a text input comprising Latin letters, and outputting as the one or more words a number of words comprising at least one of Chinese characters, Japanese characters, or Korean characters. 
     
     
         32 . A handheld electronic device comprising:
 a display   a processor apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, the memory having stored instructions which, when executed on the processor, cause the handheld electronic device to perform operations comprising:
 detecting an input comprising one or more selections of one or more input keys; 
 outputting at least one language object that corresponds with at least a first portion of the input and at least one variant language object as an alternative to the at least one language object in a first region of the display; 
 outputting one or more words comprising characters that correspond with at least a portion of the input in a second region of the display; 
 in response to detecting a selection of the at least one language object or the at least one variant language object, outputting at least one second language object that corresponds with at least a second portion of the input and at least one second variant language object in the first region, wherein the second portion of the input comprises at least one different portion of the input than the first portion of the input. 
   
     
     
         33 . The handheld electronic device of  claim 32  wherein the operations further comprise outputting a string of language objects at a text input location on the display and, responsive to a selection of at least some of the one or more words, replacing the string of language objects at the text input location with the at least some of the one or more words. 
     
     
         34 . The handheld electronic device of  claim 32  wherein the operations further comprise outputting the at least one language object, the at least one variant language object, and the one or more words as objects that are selectable by one or more predetermined inputs. 
     
     
         35 . The handheld electronic device of  claim 34  wherein the operations further comprise:
 outputting a lookup window comprising as output components the at least one language object, the at least one variant language object, and the one or more words; 
 applying a selection focus to one of the at least one language object, the at least one variant language object, or at least some of the one or more words; and 
 detecting a navigational input and, responsive thereto, shifting the selection focus to another of the at least one language object, the at least one variant language object, or the at least some of the one or more words. 
 
     
     
         36 . The handheld electronic device of  claim 35  wherein the operations further comprise detecting a selection input and, responsive thereto, and when the navigational input had resulted in a shifting of the selection focus to the at least one variant language object, outputting one or more words comprising characters that correspond with the at least one variant language object. 
     
     
         37 . The handheld electronic device of  claim 35  wherein the operations further comprise detecting a selection input and, responsive thereto, and when the navigational input had resulted in a shifting of the selection focus to the at least some of the one or more words, outputting the at least some of the one or more words at a text input location on the display. 
     
     
         38 . The handheld electronic device of  claim 34  wherein the operations further comprise outputting as the one or more words a default interpretation and at least one variant interpretation as an alternative to at least a portion of the default interpretation. 
     
     
         39 . The handheld electronic device of  claim 38  wherein the operations further comprise outputting a string of language objects at a text input location on the display and, responsive to a selection of the at least one variant interpretation, outputting the at least one variant interpretation at the text input location. 
     
     
         40 . The handheld electronic device of  claim 32  wherein the operations further comprise detecting as the input a text input comprising characters from a first alphabet, and outputting as the one or more words a number of words comprising characters from a second alphabet. 
     
     
         41 . The handheld electronic device of  claim 32  wherein the operations further comprise detecting as the input a text input comprising Latin letters, and outputting as the one or more words a number of words comprising at least one of Chinese characters, Japanese characters, or Korean characters.