Keyboard arrangement

• US 20040165924A1
• Filed: 02/24/2004
• Published: 08/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Research In Motion Limited (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Griffin, Jason T.
• Granted Patent: US 7,083,342 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 400/486
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1664 Arrangements for ergonomically adjusting the disposition of keys of the integrated keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0213 Arrangements providing an integrated pointing device in a keyboard, e.g. trackball, mini-joystick for pointing devices integrated in a laptop computer G06F1/169; joysticks G05G9/047; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0219 Special purpose keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/23 Construction or mounting of dials or of equivalent devices; Means for facilitating the use thereof by improving visibility H04M1/22
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27463 Predictive input, predictive dialling by comparing the dialled sequence with the content of a telephone directory
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/70 methods for entering alphabetical characters, e.g. multi-tap or dictionary disambiguation

Abstract

A physical keyboard includes a plurality of multi-functional keys with a reduced column QWERTY key arrangement overlaid with a numeric phone key arrangement for use in both text entry and telephony. Another physical keyboard includes a plurality of multi-functional keys having an array of alphabetic characters and an overlaid numeric array of numbers. A handheld mobile station has a first user interface having a standard alphabetic key arrangement and a second user interface having a numeric phone key arrangement.

Claims

1. A physical keyboard comprising:

a plurality of keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z and an overlaid numeric phone key arrangement, said plurality of keys associated with alphabetic characters numbering fewer than 26.

2. The physical keyboard of claim 1, wherein the number of keys associated with alphabetic characters is 14 and the total number of plurality of keys is 20.

3. The physical keyboard of claim 1, wherein the plurality of keys comprise four rows and five columns of keys, with the four rows comprising in order a first, second, third and fourth row, and the five columns comprising in order a first, second, third, fourth, and fifth column.

4. The physical keyboard of claim 3, wherein the QWERTY array of letters is associated with three of the four rows and the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with each of the four rows.

5. The physical keyboard of claim 4, wherein the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with three of the five columns.

6. The physical keyboard of claim 3, wherein the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with the second, third and fourth columns.

7. The physical keyboard of claim 6, wherein the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with keys in the first, second, third, and fourth rows, with keys in the first row 50 including a number “

1”

in the second column, a number “

2”

in the third column, and a number “

3”

in the fourth column, the numeric phone keys associated with keys in the second row 52 including a number “

4”

in the second column, a number “

5”

in the third column, and a number “

6”

in the fourth column, the numeric phone keys associated with keys in the third row including a number “

7”

in the second column, a number “

8”

in the third column, and a number “

9”

in the fourth column, and the numeric phone keys associated with keys in the fourth row including a “

*”

in the second column, a number “

0”

in the third column, and a “

#”

in the fourth column.

8. The physical keyboard of claim 7, further comprising a function associated with at least one of the plurality of keys.

9. The physical keyboard of claim 8, wherein the fourth row of keys includes an “

alt”

function in the first column, a “

next”

function in the second column, a “

space”

function in the third column, a “

shift”

function in the fourth column, and a “

return/enter”

function in the fifth column.

10. The physical keyboard of claim 7, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QW”

, “

ER”

, “

TY”

, “

UI”

, and “

OP”

, the second row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

AS”

, “

DF”

, “

GH”

, “

JK”

, and “

L”

, the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

ZX”

, “

BN”

, and “

M”

.

11. The physical keyboard of claim 7, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QW”

, “

ER”

, “

UI”

, and “

OP”

, the second row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

AS”

, “

DF”

, “

GH”

, and “

JKL”

, the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

ZXC”

, “

VB”

, and “

NM”

.

12. The physical keyboard of claim 7, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QW”

, “

ER”

, “

TY”

, “

UI”

, and “

OP”

, the second row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

AS”

, “

DF”

, “

GH”

, “

JK”

, and “

L”

, the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

Z”

, “

XC”

, “

VB”

, and “

NM”

.

13. The physical keyboard of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of keys is a “

return/enter”

key associated with a return/enter function.

14. The physical keyboard of claim 3, wherein one of the plurality of keys is a “

return/enter”

key associated with a return/enter function, and the “

return/enter”

key is positioned in the fifth column.

15. The physical keyboard of claim 3, wherein one of the plurality of keys is a “

return/enter”

key associated with a return/enter function, and the “

return/enter”

key is positioned in the fourth row.

16. The physical keyboard of claim 3, wherein the first row of five keys comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QW”

, “

ER”

, “

TY”

, “

UI”

, and “

OP”

, the second row of five keys comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

AS”

, “

DF”

, “

GH”

, “

JK”

, and “

L”

, the third row of five keys comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

ZX”

, “

CV”

, “

BN”

, and “

M”

.

17. The physical keyboard of claim 1, wherein the plurality of keys is aligned in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns to form a grid of keys, and at least one of the columns and the rows are straight.

18. The physical keyboard of claim 17, wherein at least one of the rows and the columns are non-linear.

19. The physical keyboard of claim 1, wherein the plurality of keys comprise a shape and the shape is one of uniform and non-uniform.

20. The physical keyboard of claim 19, wherein each of the plurality of keys is rectangular.

21. The physical keyboard of claim 19, wherein each of the plurality of keys is oval.

22. The physical keyboard of claim 1, wherein the number of keys is 24 and the plurality of keys includes a first, second, third and fourth row, and a first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh column, with the first row including seven keys, the second row including seven keys, the third row including seven keys, and the fourth row including three keys.

23. The physical keyboard of claim 22, wherein the three keys of the fourth row are positioned in the third, fourth, and fifth columns.

24. The physical keyboard of claim 23, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

Q”

, “

W”

, “

ER”

, “

TY”

, “

UI”

, “

O”

, and “

P”

, the second row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

A”

, “

S”

, “

DF”

, “

GH”

, “

JK”

, and “

L”

, the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

Z”

, “

XC”

, “

VB”

, and “

NM”

, and the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with keys in the first, second, third, and fourth rows, with keys in the first row including a number “

1”

in the third column, a number “

2”

in the fourth column, and a number “

3”

in the fifth column, the numeric phone keys associated with keys in the second row including a number “

4”

in the third column, a number “

5”

in the fourth column, and a number “

6”

in the fifth column, the numeric phone keys associated with keys in the third row including a number “

7”

in the third column, a number “

8”

in the fourth column, and a number “

9”

in the fifth column, and the numeric phone keys associated with keys in the fourth row including a “

*”

in the third column, a number “

0”

in the fourth column, and a “

#”

in the fifth column.

25. The physical keyboard of claim 1, wherein the plurality of keys comprise four rows and six columns of keys, with the four rows comprising a first, second, third and fourth row, and the six columns comprising a first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth column.

26. The physical keyboard of claim 25, wherein the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with the first, second, and third columns and with the first, second, third, and fourth rows.

27. The physical keyboard of claim 26, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QW”

, “

E”

, “

RT”

, “

YU”

, “

I”

, and “

OP”

, the second row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

AS”

, “

D”

, “

FG”

, “

HJ”

, “

K”

, and “

L”

, the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

ZX”

, “

C”

, “

V”

, “

BN”

, and “

M”

, and the numeric phone keys comprise keys in the first row including a number “

1”

in the first column, a number “

2”

in the second column, and a number “

3”

in the third column, the numeric phone keys associated with keys in the second row including a number “

4”

in the first column, a number “

5”

in the second column, and a number “

6”

in the third column, the numeric phone keys associated with keys in the third row including a number “

7”

in the first column, a number “

8”

in the second column, and a number “

9”

in the third column, and the fourth row comprising five keys that are misaligned with the first through sixth columns, said fourth row keys comprising a first, second, third, fourth, and fifth key, with the second key of the fourth row comprising the “

0”

of the numeric phone key arrangement, said “

0”

key being centered beneath the remainder of numeric keys 1-9.

28. The physical keyboard of claim 25, wherein the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with the second, third, and fourth columns and with the first, second, third, and fourth rows.

29. The physical keyboard of claim 28, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QW”

, “

E”

, “

RT”

, “

YU”

, “

I”

, and “

OP”

, the second row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

AS”

, “

D”

, “

FG”

, “

HJ”

, and “

KL”

, the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

ZX”

, “

CV”

, “

BN”

, and “

M”

, and the numeric phone arrangement comprises keys in the first row including a number “

1”

in the second column, a number “

2”

in the third column, and a number “

3”

in the fourth column, the numeric phone keys associated with keys in the second row including a number “

4”

in the second column, a number “

5”

in the third column, and a number “

6”

in the fourth column, the numeric phone keys associated with keys in the third row including a number “

7”

in the second column, a number “

8”

in the third column, and a number “

9”

in the fourth column, and the fourth row comprising three keys that are misaligned with the first through sixth columns, said fourth row keys comprising a first, a second, and a third key, with the first key of the fourth row comprising a “

*”

, the second key of the fourth row comprising a “

0”

of the numeric phone key arrangement, and the third key of the fourth row comprising a “

#”

.

30. The physical keyboard of claim 1, wherein the plurality of keys comprise four rows and four columns of keys, with the four rows comprising a first, second, third and fourth row and the four columns comprising a first, second, third, and fourth column.

31. The physical keyboard of claim 30, wherein the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with the first, second, and third columns and with the first, second, third, and fourth rows.

32. The physical keyboard of claim 31, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QWE”

, “

RT”

, “

YU”

, and “

IOP”

, the second row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

ASD”

, “

FGH”

, and “

JKL”

, the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

ZXC”

, “

VB”

, and “

NM”

, and the numeric phone key arrangement comprises keys in the first row including a number “

1”

in the first column, a number “

2”

in the second column, and a number “

3”

in the third column, the numeric phone key arrangement comprises keys in the second row including a number “

4”

in the first column, a number “

5”

in the second column, and a number “

6”

in the third column, the numeric phone key arrangement comprises keys in the third row including a number “

7”

in the first column, a number “

8”

in the second column, and a number “

9”

in the third column, and the fourth row includes four keys and the fourth row comprises keys in the first column of “

*”

, the second column of “

0”

, and the third column of “

#”

.

33. The physical keyboard of claim 32, wherein the fourth key of the second row is associated with a “

backspace”

function, the fourth key of the third row is associated with a “

return/enter”

function, the first key of the fourth row is associated with a “

txt”

function, the second key of the fourth row is associated with a “

space”

function, the third key of the fourth row is associated with a “

shift”

function, and the fourth key of the fourth row is associated with an “

alt”

function.

34. The physical keyboard of claim 1, wherein the plurality of keys comprise four rows of keys, with the first row of keys including a first number of keys, the second row of keys including the first number minus one number of keys, the third row of keys including the first number minus two number of keys, and the fourth row of keys including the first number minus three number of keys.

35. The physical keyboard of claim 34, wherein the plurality of keys is arranged symmetrically around a center line.

36. The physical keyboard of claim 1, comprising four rows of keys, with the first row of keys including a first number of keys, the second row of keys including fewer keys than the first row, the third row of keys including fewer keys than the second row, and the fourth row of keys including fewer keys than the third row.

37. The physical keyboard of claim 36, wherein the plurality of keys is arranged symmetrically around a center line.

38. The physical keyboard of claim 1, wherein the indicia comprises alphabetic indicia and numeric indicia, with the alphabetic indicia having a first color and the numeric indicia having a second color, with the first and second color being one of the same or different.

39. The physical keyboard of claim 1, wherein the indicia comprises alphabetic indicia and numeric indicia, and at least one of the alphabetic indicia or numeric indicia is positioned on the plurality of keys.

40. The physical keyboard of claim 1, wherein the indicia comprises alphabetic indicia and numeric indicia, with the alphabetic indicia having a font and a font size and the numeric indicia having a font and a font size, and the font size of the alphabetic indicia is one of the same as or different from the font size of the numeric indicia, and the font of the alphabetic indicia is one of the same as or different from the font of the numeric indicia.

41. The physical keyboard of claim 40, wherein the font size of the alphabetic indicia is about ⅓

the font size of the numeric indicia.

42. The physical keyboard of claim 40, wherein the numeric indicia has a font size of 10 mm.

84. A mobile communication device having a face with the physical keyboard of claim 1 associated with the face, wherein the numeric array of keys is positioned symmetrically on the face of the device.

93. A handheld mobile communication device comprising the physical keyboard as in one of claims 1, 43, 48, 51, 68, 70, 72, 76, 81, 82, 85, 86, 89, or 92.

95. A mobile communication device having a telephony mode and a text-entry mode comprising the physical keyboard as in one of claims 1, 43, 48, 51, 68, 70, 72, 76, 81, 82, 85, 86, 89, or 92.

97. The physical keyboard of claim 1, wherein the numeric phone key arrangement comprises keys associated with the numbers 0-9, and the key associated with the number “

5”

includes an identifying portion in the form of one of a raised bump or a recessed dimple.

98. A method for operating a mobile communication device having the physical keyboard of claim 1, comprising:

inputting numbers into a mobile communication device by striking keys with the fingers of a single hand; and

inputting letters into a mobile communication device by striking keys with the fingers of two hands.

99. The method of claim 98, further comprising:

inputting functional commands and symbols by striking keys with fingers from a single hand.

100. The method of claim 98, further comprising:

inputting functional commands and symbols by striking keys with the fingers of two hands.

43. A physical keyboard comprising:

a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z, said plurality of keys overlaid with a numeric phone key arrangement, wherein the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with a subset of the plurality of keys, and the subset of keys is arranged symmetrically about a center line.

44. The physical keyboard of claim 43, wherein the plurality of keys are arranged in rows and columns, with the “

1”

, “

2”

, and “

3”

of the numeric phone key arrangement being associated with keys in a first row, the “

4”

, “

5”

, and “

6”

of the numeric phone key arrangement being associated with keys in a second row, the “

7”

, “

8”

, and “

9”

of the numeric phone key arrangement being associated with keys in a third row, and the “

0”

of the numeric phone key arrangement being associated with a key in the fourth row, said “

0”

key being centered beneath the remainder of the numeric phone key arrangement.

45. The physical keyboard of claim 44, further comprising a “

*”

associated with one of the plurality of keys and a “

#”

associated with another of the plurality of keys, wherein the “

*”

key is positioned directly adjacent one side of the “

0”

key and the “

#”

key is positioned directly adjacent the other side of the “

0”

key.

46. A physical keyboard arrangement comprising:

a reduced column QWERTY array of letters A-Z overlaid with a numeric phone key array, said numeric phone key array including at least numbers.

47. The physical keyboard arrangement of claim 46, wherein the numeric phone key array further comprises symbols.

94. A handheld mobile communication device comprising a physical keyboard having the physical keyboard arrangement as in claim 46.

96. A mobile communication device having a telephony mode and a text-entry mode comprising a physical keyboard having the keyboard arrangement as in claim 46.

48. A physical keyboard comprising:

a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including a reduced column QWERTY alphabetic key arrangement, said plurality of keys being overlaid with a numeric phone key arrangement.

49. The physical keyboard of claim 48, wherein the number of columns is an odd number and the numeric phone key arrangement is centered over the columns.

50. The physical keyboard of claim 49, wherein the number of columns is five and further comprising four rows, with the QWERTY alphabetic key arrangement utilizing keys in three of the four rows and the numeric phone key arrangement utilizing keys in each of the four rows.

51. A physical keyboard comprising:

a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z, said plurality of keys being positioned in seven columns including a first, a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, and a seventh column and at least three rows including a first, a second, and a third row.

52. The physical keyboard of claim 51, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QW”

, “

E”

, “

R”

, “

TY”

, “

U”

, “

I”

, and “

OP”

, the second row comprised keys corresponding in order to letters “

A”

, “

S”

, “

DF”

, “

G”

, “

H”

, “

JK”

, and “

L”

, the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

ZX”

, “

C”

, “

VB”

, “

N”

, and “

M”

.

53. The physical keyboard of claim 52, further comprising a fourth row of keys, the fourth row of keys comprising at least five keys, said at least five keys being associated with the functions of “

next”

, “

shift”

, “

space”

, “

shift”

, and “

enter”

.

54. The physical keyboard of claim 51, wherein the first row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

QW”

, “

E”

, “

R”

, “

TY”

, “

U”

, “

I”

, and “

OP”

, the second row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

A”

, “

S”

, “

DF”

, “

GH”

, “

JK”

, and “

L”

, and the third row comprises keys corresponding in order to letters “

ZX”

, “

C”

, “

VB”

, “

N”

, and “

M”

.

55. The physical keyboard of claim 54, further comprising a fourth row with a numeric phone key arrangement overlaying the QWERTY array.

56. The physical keyboard of claim 55, wherein the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with the third, fourth, and fifth columns.

57. The physical keyboard of claim 55, wherein the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with the first, second, and third columns.

58. The physical keyboard of claim 55, wherein the numeric phone key arrangement is associated with the second, third, and fourth columns.

59. A handheld mobile station comprising a housing, a display, and a physical keyboard comprising a first user interface having a set of keys associated therewith, and a second user interface having a set of keys associated therewith, wherein a subset of the set of keys for the second user interface is a subset of the set of keys for the first user interface, the handheld mobile station is characterized by:

the first user interface being selected from a key arrangement group consisting of;

QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY, or DVORAK;

the second user interface being a numeric phone key arrangement; and

the set of keys for the first user interface comprising less than 26 keys.

60. The handheld mobile station of claim 59, further characterized by:

the second user interface centered on a face of the handheld mobile station.

61. The handheld mobile station of claim 59, further characterized by:

the second user interface positioned substantially on the left side of a face of the handheld mobile station.

62. The handheld mobile station of claim 59, further characterized by:

the second user interface positioned substantially on the right side of a face of the handheld mobile station.

63. The handheld mobile station of claim 59, further characterized by:

a “

0”

indicia for the second user interface presented on a key representing a space bar associated with the first user interface.

64. The handheld mobile station of claim 59, further characterized by:

indicia associated with the first user interface being presented on the set of keys for the first user interface; and

indicia associated with the second user interface being presented on the housing.

65. The handheld mobile station of claim 59, further characterized by:

indicia associated with the first user interface being presented on the set of keys for the first user interface; and

indicia associated with the second user interface being presented on the set of keys for the second user interface.

66. The handheld mobile station of claim 59, further characterized by:

a first area of a front surface of the housing having a first color in and around an area near the set of keys for the second user interface, the first color being different from a second color in a second area of the front surface contiguous to at least a portion of the first area.

67. The handheld mobile station of claim 59, further characterized by:

a first and a second color on the set of keys for the first user interface, wherein the first color dominates a top portion of the set of keys and the second color dominates a bottom portion of the set of keys; and

the second color associated with the set of keys for the first user interface.

68. A physical keyboard comprising:

a plurality of keys having one or more indicia associated with each key, the plurality of keys forming at least a first user interface on said physical keyboard, the keys and indicia of the first user interface arranged so as to form a QWERTY alphabetic configuration, with a majority of the keys of the first user interface representing more than one alphabetic letter per key; and

a subset of the plurality of keys, each key of the subset having indicia representing a number 0-9, the subset forming a second user interface positioned in a numeric phone keypad arrangement on said physical keyboard, wherein the indicia representing numbers is larger in size than any alphabetic indicia associated with the subset of keys.

69. The physical keyboard of claim 68, wherein the subset of keys further includes the symbols “

*” and

“

#”

.

70. A physical keyboard comprising:

a plurality of keys having one or more indicia associated with each key, the plurality of keys forming at least a first user interface on said physical keyboard, the keys and indicia of the first user interface arranged so as to form a QWERTY alphabetic configuration, with a majority of the keys of the first user interface representing more than one alphabetic letter per key, wherein the plurality of keys on said physical keyboard is less than 26 keys;

a subset of the plurality of keys, each key of the subset having indicia representing a character from a numeric phone keypad arrangement, the subset forming a second user interface arranged as a numeric phone keypad on said physical keyboard.

71. The physical keyboard of claim 70, wherein the character from a numeric phone keypad is selected from the group consisting of:

“

0”

, “

1”

, “

2”

, “

3”

, “

4”

, “

5”

, “

6”

, “

7”

, “

8”

, “

9”

, “

*” and

“

#”

.

72. A physical keyboard comprising:

a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z, an overlaid numeric key array of numbers 0-9, and a “

space”

function, wherein the number “

0”

and the “

space”

function are associated with the same key.

73. The physical keyboard of claim 72, wherein the numeric key array is oriented in a numeric phone key arrangement.

74. The physical keyboard of claim 72, wherein the plurality of keys are arranged in at least four rows and at least four columns, with at least some of the keys being associated with more than one alphabetic character.

75. The physical keyboard of claim 74, wherein the numeric key array is oriented in a numeric phone key arrangement.

76. A physical keyboard comprising:

a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z and an overlaid numeric array of numbers 0-9, wherein the overlaid numeric array of numbers comprises greater than 10 keys, such that at least one of the numbers is associated with two or more keys.

77. The physical keyboard of claim 76, wherein the alphabetic characters are each associated with a single key and a number of keys utilized for alphabetic characters is 26.

78. The physical keyboard of claim 76, wherein a number of keys utilized for alphabetic characters is less than 26 such that at least two of the alphabetic characters are associated with a single key.

79. The physical keyboard of claim 76, wherein the numeric keys comprise at least two keys associated with the numbers “

1”

, at least two keys associated with the numbers “

3”

, at least two keys associated with the numbers “

4”

, at least two keys associated with the numbers “

6”

, at least two keys associated with the numbers “

7”

, and at least two keys associated with the numbers “

9”

.

80. The physical keyboard of claim 79, wherein the numeric keys further comprise at least two keys associated with the numbers “

2”

, at least two keys associated with the numbers “

5”

, and at least two keys associated with the numbers “

8”

.

81. A physical keyboard comprising:

a plurality of multi-functional keys comprising an alphabetic array of keys comprising the alphabetic characters A-Z and a numeric array of keys comprising the numeric characters 0-9 overlaid on the alphabetic array of keys so that alphabetic and numeric characters share at least some of the plurality of keys, said plurality of keys being arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, each of which has a column width, wherein the numeric keys are spaced at least one column width from one another.

82. A physical keyboard comprising:

a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z and an overlaid numeric phone key arrangement, wherein the numeric phone key arrangement is centered on the keys associated with alphabetic characters.

83. The physical keyboard of claim 82, wherein the plurality of keys are arranged in rows and columns, with alphabetic characters being associated with a first row, a second row, and a third row, and numbers being associated with the first row, the second row, the third row, and a fourth row, with a “

1”

, “

2”

, and “

3”

, being associated with the first row, a “

4”

, “

5”

, and “

6”

being associated with the second row, a “

7”

, “

8”

, and “

9”

being associated with the third row, and a “

0”

being associated with the fourth row, wherein the “

0”

is centered beneath the numeric keys in the first, second, and third rows.

85. A physical keyboard comprising:

a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a reduced QWERTY array of letters A-Z and a subset of the plurality of keys corresponding to a numeric phone key arrangement, wherein the numeric phone key arrangement is oriented such that the subset of keys is symmetrical about a common center line.

86. A physical keyboard comprising:

a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic Characters corresponding to a reduced QWERTY array of letters A-Z and a subset of the plurality of keys corresponding to a numeric phone key arrangement, the plurality of keys being arranged in a first row, a second row, a third row, and a fourth row, and a plurality of columns, wherein the subset of keys comprises a “

1”

, “

2”

, “

3”

associated with keys in the first row, a “

4”

, “

5”

, and “

6”

associated with keys in the second row, a “

7”

, “

8”

, and “

9”

associated with keys in the third row, and a “

0”

associated with a key in the fourth row, wherein the “

1”

, “

4”

, and “

7”

are aligned in a first column, the “

2”

, “

5”

, “

8”

, and “

0”

are aligned in a second column, and the “

3”

, “

6”

, and “

9”

are aligned in a third column, and the key associated with “

0”

is centered beneath the 1-9 keys of the numeric phone key arrangement.

87. The physical keyboard of claim 86, wherein the first, second, and third columns are a subset of the plurality of columns, and the first, second, and third columns are centered among the plurality of columns.

88. The physical keyboard of claim 86, wherein the first, second, and third columns are a subset of the plurality of columns, and the first, second, and third columns are not centered among the plurality of columns.

89. A physical keyboard comprising:

a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z and a subset of the plurality of keys corresponding to a numeric array of numbers 0-9, “

*”

, and “

#”

, wherein the key associated with “

0”

is positioned between a key associated with “

*” and

a key associated with “

#”

.

90. The physical keyboard of claim 89, wherein the plurality of keys comprises rows and columns, and the keys associated with “

*”

, “

0”

, and “

#”

are all positioned in the same row.

91. The physical keyboard of claim 90, wherein the key associated with “

*”

is positioned to the left of and adjacent the key associated with “

0”

, and the key associated with “

#”

is positioned to the right of and adjacent the key associated with “

0”

.

92. A physical keyboard comprising:

a plurality of multi-functional keys and corresponding indicia including keys associated with alphabetic characters corresponding to a QWERTY array of letters A-Z, a first subset of the plurality of keys corresponding to a numeric array of numbers 0-9, and a second subset of the plurality of keys corresponding to the symbols “

*” and

“

#”

, wherein the first subset of keys and the second subset of keys do not overlap.