Method of single-handed software operation of large form factor mobile electronic devices

Abstract

A method of enabling single-handed user-software interactions in a large form-factor electronic device having a touch screen for receiving user thumb input actions via an operating system desktop, the method comprising the steps of: positioning a single-handed utilization zone on the mobile electronic device desktop at about a determined location of the thumb of a device holding user; and populating said single-handed utilization zone with a plurality of actionable icons arranged in a horizontal pitch and a vertical pitch determined based on a user profile and the size said single-handed utilization zone.

I claim: 
     
         1 . In a large form-factor mobile electronic device having a touchscreen for receiving user thumb input actions via an operating system desktop to facilitate user-software interactions, a method of enabling single-handed user-software interactions, comprising the steps of:
 generating a designated dynamic area on the touchscreen for defining a single-handed utilization zone;   positioning said single-handed utilization zone in real time at a currently detected thumb location on the touchscreen;   rendering at a native resolution of the touchscreen, a proxy desktop within said single-handed utilization zone, said proxy desktop providing at least some of the same functionality of the operating system desktop of the large form-factor mobile electronic device;   wherein said currently detected thumb location is tracked in real time on the touchscreen and updated to provide another currently detected thumb location each time the thumb of a user is relocated on the touchscreen to automatically position said single-handed utilization zone at about said another currently detected thumb location with context-aware intelligence;   wherein said proxy desktop is populated with a plurality of actionable icons arranged within said zone to facilitate easy thumb access; and   wherein the actionable icons are further arranged in a horizontal pitch and a vertical pitch determined based on a usage profile and the single-handed utilization zone size.   
     
     
         2 . The method of enabling according to  claim 1 , wherein said proxy desktop automatically operates in a foreground mode of operation; and wherein said proxy desktop in a default mode of operation substantially conforms in shape, size, appearance, and content to a small form-factor mobile electronic device desktop. 
     
     
         3 . The method of enabling according to  claim 1 , wherein said proxy desktop may be customized with respect to shape, size, appearance, location, content, or accessibility of content to
 facilitate providing a personalized user experience.   
     
     
         4 . The method of enabling according to  claim 1 , wherein said usage profile is a thumb profile based on one or more thumb size demographics including at least a thumb length, a thumb thickness and a thumb range of motion. 
     
     
         5 . The method of enabling according to  claim 4  wherein said current detected thumb location is tracked on the touchscreen by inference. 
     
     
         6 . The method of enabling according to  claim 4 , wherein said current detected thumb location is tracked on the touchscreen each time the thumb of a user is relocated on the touchscreen; and further comprising:
 providing a plurality of user profiles for facilitating customizing said proxy desktop for individual ones of a plurality of user;   wherein each individual one of said plurality of user profiles is selectable by a current user via said proxy desktop and a thumb input selection action provided by the current user.   
     
     
         7 . The method of enabling according to  claim 4 , further comprising:
 displaying in a foreground mode of operation an application program in response to a user initiated desktop program activation request; and wherein said proxy desktop automatically operates on the large form factor electronic device in a background mode of operation.   
     
     
         8 . The method of enabling according to  claim 7 , further comprising:
 rendering a single-handed utilization zone application interface on the touch sensitive screen within said zone, said step of rendering said interface being initiated in response to a user request to bring said single-handed utilization zone application interface to a foreground position on the touchscreen for application program-user software interaction or in response to an application program request to bring said single-handed utilization zone application interface to said foreground position for application program-user software interaction.   
     
     
         9 . The method of enabling according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing access to an operating system with a software development infrastructure having single-handed usability zone capability to facilitate development and implementation of a single-handed usability zone desktop on the large form factor mobile electronic device;   providing access to a plurality of operating system services to a plurality of application programs to facilitate development and implementation of a single-handed usability zone application interface on the large form factor mobile electronic device for each individual one of said plurality of application programs; and   providing access to a plurality of operating system services and software routines to middleware programs which can facilitate development and implementation of a single-handed usability zone application interface on the large form factor mobile electronic device for each individual one of said plurality of application programs.   
     
     
         10 . The method of enabling according to  claim 8 , wherein said single-handed utilization zone facilitates a hierarchical schema using a plurality of overlapping windows within said single-handed utilization zone to efficiently navigate through at least one folder or at least one group to locate a specific document or program within said proxy desktop by user navigation using only the thumb of the device-holding hand of the user. 
     
     
         11 . The method of enabling according to  claim 8 , wherein said single-handed utilization zone facilitates using only the thumb of the device-holding hand of the user to navigate through a multi-level program menu using a plurality of overlapping windows within said single-handed utilization zone, wherein each individual level of said menu is presented as an overlapping window with actionable sub-menus. 
     
     
         12 . The method of enabling according to  claim 1  wherein said single-handed utilization zone functions as a portal to provide a hierarchical organization of information arranged in ordered overlapping windows from a bottom hierarchical level to a top hierarchical level; and
 wherein each hierarchy level displayed in a foreground mode of operating closes upon a user initiated closing request, bringing a prior hierarchy level to said foreground mode of operation until said user closing request closes said top hierarchical level, automatically bringing said touch screen desktop to said foreground mode of operation to facilitate user-operating system software interaction. 
 
     
     
         13 . The method of enabling according to  claim 12  wherein said hierarchical organization of information is an organization of hierarchical folders. 
     
     
         14 . The method of enabling according to  claim 12  wherein said hierarchical organization of information is an organization of hierarchical of groups. 
     
     
         15 . The method of enabling according to  claim 12  wherein said hierarchical organization of information is an organization of menus. 
     
     
         16 . The method of enabling according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing access to an operating system with a software development infrastructure having single-handed usability zone capability to facilitate development and implementation of a single-handed usability zone desktop on the large form factor mobile electronic device; and   providing access to a plurality of operating system services and a plurality of program applications to facilitate development and implementation of a single-handed usability zone application interface on the large form factor mobile electronic device for each individual one of said plurality of program applications.   
     
     
         17 . The method of enabling according to  claim 1 , wherein the large form-factor mobile electronic device is a hand held device including: a smart phone, a tablet, a notebook computer, a hybrid computer, an electronic book reader, a digital media player, or a special-purpose computer; and
 wherein each hand held device includes a mobile operating system.   
     
     
         18 . A method of enabling single-handed user-software interactions in a large form-factor mobile electronic device having a touchscreen for receiving user thumb input actions via an operating system desktop, the method comprising the steps of:
 rendering a proxy desktop at a native resolution of the touchscreen within a generated single-handed utilization zone defined within a designated dynamic area on the touchscreen, said single-handed utilization zone being positioned in real time at a currently detected user thumb location on the touchscreen; and   populating said single-handed utilization zone with a plurality of actionable icons arranged in a horizontal pitch and a vertical pitch determined based on a user profile and the size said single-handed utilization zone.   
     
     
         19 . The method of enabling single-handed user-software interactions according to  claim 18 , wherein said proxy desktop provides at least some of the functionality of the operating system desktop of the large form-factor mobile electronic device; and
 wherein said usage profile is a thumb profile based on one or more thumb size demographics including at least a thumb length, a thumb thickness and a thumb range of motion.   
     
     
         20 . A large form-factor mobile electronic device having a touch screen for receiving user thumb input actions via an operating system desktop, comprising:
 means for rendering at a native resolution of the touchscreen a proxy desktop within a single-handed utilization zone defined within a designated dynamic area on the touchscreen, said single-handed utilization zone being positioned in real time at a currently detected user thumb location on the touchscreen; and   means for populating said single-handed utilization zone with a plurality of actionable icons arranged in a horizontal pitch and a vertical pitch determined based on a user profile and the size said single-handed utilization zone; and   wherein said proxy desktop provides at least some of the functionality of the operating system desktop of the large form-factor mobile electronic device.