System and method for a thumb-optimized touch-screen user interface

Abstract

A virtual touch interface solution is provided that fits on a pocket-size device or even palm-size device and uses the standard keyboard layout with straight rows of keys, which is achieved while making the interaction accurate, fast, and comfortable. In some versions, while the user presses a finger down on the touch-screen display and the finger thereby covers information on a portion of the display, displaying second information in a box or “bubble”, the box or “bubble” positioned away from a point at which the finger is pressed so as to not be covered by the user's finger and so as to help the user properly position their finger on a target virtual selectable item.

1 . A method for providing a user interface to interact with Web pages or other content or user interface elements displayed on a handheld device having a touchscreen display, the method comprising:
 while the user presses a finger down on the touch-screen display and the finger thereby covers all or part of a target selectable element including displayed information, displaying the covered information in a first box or “bubble”, the first box or “bubble” positioned away from an area at which the finger is pressed so as to not be covered by the user's finger and so as to help the user properly position their finger on a target item under the finger;   if the user's finger moves off of the target selectable element without lifting and moves to cover another second target selectable element and associated displayed information without lifting, removing the first box or bubble and showing a new second box or bubble with content updated to correspond to the newly covered information; and   detecting when the user's finger is lifted from the second target selectable element, and in response activating a virtual selectable element associated with the second portion.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information is web page information displayed in a web page display portion of a browser window, and the first box or bubble displays a hyperlink location or link text. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, if the user's finger moves to cover another second portion of the display without lifting, updating the first box or bubble's content to correspondingly display newly covered information. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, when the user's finger is lifted from the area pressed, causing said first box or bubble to disappear and a virtual selectable element associated with the area to be activated. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, when the user's finger is moved to an area not associated with a virtual selectable element, removing the first box or bubble. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising activating different virtual selectable elements at different times in response to a finger pressing or lifting, depending on whether the virtual selectable element is a first type or a second type, the first type activating in response to finger touch-down and the second type activating in response to finger lift-off. 
     
     
         7 . A method for providing a user interface to interact with Web pages or other content or user interface elements displayed on a handheld device having a touchscreen display, the method comprising:
 while the user presses a finger down on the touch-screen display and the finger thereby covers information on a portion of the display, displaying second information in a box or “bubble”, the box or “bubble” positioned away from a point at which the finger is pressed so as to not be covered by the user's finger and so as to help the user properly position their finger on a target virtual selectable item.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , in which the second information is designed to assist the user in identifying which virtual selectable item his or her finger is pressing. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , in which the second information designed to assist the user in identifying a single action associated with the target virtual selectable item. 
     
     
         11 . The method of claim  9 , further comprising, if the user's finger moves to cover another second portion of the display without lifting, updating the box or bubble's content to correspondingly display third information designed to assist the user in identifying a single action associated with a second virtual selectable item associated with the second portion, now at least
 partially covered by the user's finger.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising when the user's finger is lifted from the second portion of the display, activating the second virtual selectable item associated with the second portion. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising when the press of said target virtual selectable items is directed to a virtual selectable item configured to respond to touch on the lift UP, displaying a URL or other information corresponding to said pressed target virtual selectable item in a box or “bubble”. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising, if the user's finger moves to cover another second portion of the display without lifting, updating the box or bubble's content to correspondingly display newly covered information. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising when the user's finger is lifted from the second portion of the display, activating a virtual selectable item associated with the second portion. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising, when the user's finger is lifted from the area pressed, causing said box or bubble to disappear and a virtual selectable item associated with the area to be activated. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising, when the user's finger is moved to an area not associated with a virtual selectable element, removing the box or bubble. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising, when the user's finger is moved to a blank, non-selectable part of the display before lifting that finger providing no click activity, even if the user initially pressed their finger on a selectable item. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising activating different virtual selectable items at different times in response to a finger pressing or lifting, depending on whether the virtual selectable item is a first type or a second type, the first type activating in response to finger touch-down and the second type activating in response to finger lift-off.