GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES

• US 20060253801A1
• Filed: 09/23/2005
• Published: 11/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Disney Enterprises Incorporated (The Walt Disney Company)
• Original Assignee: Disney Enterprises Incorporated (The Walt Disney Company)
• Inventors: Weinrib, Jeremy A., Okaro, Oke
• Granted Patent: US 8,539,374 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure

An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a display and a processor configured to control the display of a graphical user interface on the display. The electronic device further includes a computer readable medium containing instructions for configuring the processor to provide a menu. The menu includes a plurality of links. The links include at least one link that corresponds to a submenu. The submenu includes a further plurality of links. The processor monitors a plurality of user inputs and monitors the position of a cursor within the display. The processor displays the menu upon entry of a first user input, and displays the submenu upon selection of the corresponding submenu link within the menu. When the cursor is within a content portion of the display and the menu is not displayed, the processor displays the submenu upon entry of a second user input, without first displaying the menu.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium containing instructions for configuring a processor to perform a method for providing a graphical user interface on a display, the method comprising:

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links, wherein the links include at least one link that corresponds to a submenu, the submenu comprising a further plurality of links;

monitoring a plurality of user inputs;

monitoring the position of a cursor within the display;

displaying the menu upon entry of a first user input;

displaying the submenu upon selection of the corresponding submenu link within the menu; and

when the cursor is within a content portion of the display and the menu is not displayed, displaying the submenu upon entry of a second user input, without first displaying the menu.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein monitoring a plurality of user inputs includes monitoring a directional user input that controls movement of the cursor.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 2, wherein the plurality of links in the menu are repetitively navigable using a directional input directed in a single direction.

4. The computer readable medium of claim 2, wherein:

the content portion has a boundary; and

the cursor is movable between at least two positions within the boundary of the content portion; and

the first user input consists of a directional input in a direction that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion.

5. The computer readable medium of claim 4, wherein the first user input consists of a directional input that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion in one direction.

6. The computer readable medium of claim 5, further comprising removing the menu from the display upon entry of a directional input in the opposite direction.

7. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the links include a plurality of links that correspond to submenus;

and

the method further comprising;

monitoring the content of the content portion of the display; and

upon entry of the second input when the cursor is within a content portion of the display and the menu is not displayed, determining which of the submenus to display based on the content of the content portion.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 7, wherein:

determining which of the submenus to display based on the content of the content portion comprises retrieving an identifier for the content of the content portion; and

determining which of the submenus to display comprises determining which of the submenus to display based on the identifier.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the identifier is a filename of a content page displayed in the content portion.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the content portion of the display displays a content page and at least one of the menu and the submenu contains a link to the content page.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the second user input consists of a single keystroke.

12. A computer readable medium containing instructions for configuring a processor to perform a method for providing a graphical user interface on a display, the method comprising:

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links;

monitoring a directional user input that controls movement of a cursor within a content portion of the display;

monitoring the position of the cursor within the content portion of the display, the content portion having a boundary, the content portion allowing movement of the cursor between at least two positions within the boundary of the content portion;

displaying the menu upon entry of a directional input in a direction that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion; and

removing the menu from the display upon entry of an opposite directional input.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the plurality of links in the menu are repetitively navigable using a directional input directed in a single direction.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein:

the links include at least one link that corresponds to a submenu, the submenu comprising a further plurality of links;

the content portion of the display displays a content page, at least one of the menu and the submenu containing a link to the content page; and

the method further comprising displaying the content page in the content portion and placing the cursor within the content page upon selection of the corresponding page link.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the directional input consists of a directional input that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion in one direction.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the directional input consists of a single keystroke.

17. a processor;

and

a computer readable medium containing instructions for configuring the processor to;

provide a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links, wherein the links include at least one link that corresponds to a submenu, the submenu comprising a further plurality of links;

monitor a plurality of user inputs;

monitor the position of a cursor within the display;

display the menu upon entry of a first user input;

display the submenu upon selection of the corresponding submenu link within the menu; and

when the cursor is within a content portion of the display and the menu is not displayed, display the submenu upon entry of a second user input, without first displaying the menu.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein monitoring a plurality of user inputs includes monitoring a directional user input that controls movement of the cursor.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the plurality of links in the menu are repetitively navigable using a directional input directed in a single direction.

23. The system of claim 17, wherein the links include a plurality of links that correspond to submenus;

and

the computer readable medium further containing instructions for configuring the processor to;

monitor the content of the content portion of the display; and

upon entry of the second input when the cursor is within a content portion of the display and the menu is not displayed, determine which of the submenus to display based on the content of the content portion.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein:

determining which of the submenus to display based on the content of the content portion comprises retrieving an identifier for the content of the content portion; and

determining which of the submenus to display comprises determining which of the submenus to display based on the identifier.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the identifier is a filename of a content page displayed in the content portion.

26. The system of claim 17, wherein the content portion of the display displays a content page and at least one of the menu and the submenu contains a link to the content page.

27. The system of claim 17, wherein the second user input consists of a single keystroke.

20. the content portion has a boundary;

and

the cursor is movable between at least two positions within the boundary of the content portion; and

the first user input consists of a directional input in a direction that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the first user input consists of a directional input that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion in one direction.

22. The system of claim 21, further comprising removing the menu from the display upon entry of a directional input in the opposite direction.

28. A system for providing a graphical user interface, the system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer readable medium containing instructions for configuring the processor to;

provide a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links;

monitor a directional user input that controls movement of a cursor within a content portion of a display;

monitor the position of the cursor within the content portion of the display, the content portion having a boundary, the content portion allowing movement of the cursor between at least two positions within the boundary of the content portion;

display the menu upon entry of a directional input in a direction that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion; and

remove the menu from the display upon entry of an opposite directional input.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the plurality of links in the menu are repetitively navigable using a directional input directed in a single direction.

30. The system of claim 28, wherein:

the links include at least one link that corresponds to a submenu, the submenu comprising a further plurality of links;

the content portion of the display displays a content page, at least one of the menu and the submenu containing a link to the content page; and

the computer readable medium further containing instructions for configuring the processor to display the content page in the content portion and placing the cursor within the content page upon selection of the corresponding page link.

31. The system of claim 28, wherein the directional input consists of a directional input that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion in one direction.

32. The system of claim 28, wherein the directional input consists of a single keystroke.

33. An electronic device comprising:

a display;

a processor configured to control the display of a graphical user interface on the display; and

a computer readable medium containing instructions for configuring the processor to;

provide a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links, wherein the links include at least one link that corresponds to a submenu, the submenu comprising a further plurality of links;

monitor a plurality of user inputs;

monitor the position of a cursor within the display;

display the menu upon entry of a first user input;

display the submenu upon selection of the corresponding submenu link within the menu; and

when the cursor is within a content portion of the display and the menu is not displayed, display the submenu upon entry of a second user input, without first displaying the menu.

34. The device of claim 33, wherein monitoring a plurality of user inputs includes monitoring a directional user input that controls movement of the cursor.

35. The device of claim 34, wherein the plurality of links in the menu are repetitively navigable using a directional input directed in a single direction.

36. The device of claim 34, wherein:

the content portion has a boundary; and

the cursor is movable between at least two positions within the boundary of the content portion; and

the first user input consists of a directional input in a direction that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion.

37. The device of claim 36, wherein the first user input consists of a directional input that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion in one direction.

38. The device of claim 37, the computer readable medium further containing instructions for configuring the processor to remove the menu from the display upon entry of a directional input in the opposite direction.

39. The device of claim 33, wherein the links include a plurality of links that correspond to submenus;

and

the computer readable medium further containing instructions for configuring the processor to;

monitor the content of the content portion of the display; and

upon entry of the second input when the cursor is within a content portion of the display and the menu is not displayed, determine which of the submenus to display based on the content of the content portion.

40. The device of claim 39, wherein:

determining which of the submenus to display based on the content of the content portion comprises retrieving an identifier for the content of the content portion; and

determining which of the submenus to display comprises determining which of the submenus to display based on the identifier.

41. The device of claim 40, wherein the identifier is a filename of a content page displayed in the content portion.

42. The device of claim 33, wherein the content portion of the display displays a content page and at least one of the menu and the submenu contains a link to the content page.

43. The device of claim 33, wherein the second user input consists of a single keystroke.

44. The device of claim 33, wherein the device comprises one of:

(a) a cellular telephone, (b) a PDA, or (c) a pager.

45. An electronic device comprising:

a display;

a directional input;

a processor configured to control the display of a graphical user interface on the display; and

a computer readable medium containing instructions for configuring the processor to;

provide a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links;

monitor a directional user input that controls movement of a cursor within a content portion of the display;

monitor the position of the cursor within the content portion of the display, the content portion having a boundary, the content portion allowing movement of the cursor between at least two positions within the boundary of the content portion;

display the menu upon entry of a directional input in a direction that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion; and

remove the menu from the display upon entry of an opposite directional input.

46. The device of claim 45, wherein the plurality of links in the menu are repetitively navigable using a directional input directed in a single direction.

47. The device of claim 45, wherein:

the links include at least one link that corresponds to a submenu, the submenu comprising a further plurality of links;

the content portion of the display displays a content page, at least one of the menu and the submenu containing a link to the content page; and

the computer readable medium further containing instructions for configuring the processor to display the content page in the content portion and placing the cursor within the content page upon selection of the corresponding page link.

48. The device of claim 45, wherein the directional input consists of a directional input that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion in one direction.

49. The device of claim 45, wherein the directional input consists of a single keystroke.

50. The device of claim 45, wherein the device comprises one of:

(a) a cellular telephone, (b) a PDA, or (c) a pager.

51. A method for providing a graphical user interface on an electronic display, the method comprising:

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links, wherein the links include at least one link that corresponds to a submenu, the submenu comprising a further plurality of links;

monitoring a plurality of user inputs;

monitoring the position of a cursor within the display;

displaying the menu upon entry of a first user input;

displaying the submenu upon selection of the corresponding submenu link within the menu; and

when the cursor is within a content portion of the display and the menu is not displayed, displaying the submenu upon entry of a second user input, without first displaying the menu.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein monitoring a plurality of user inputs includes monitoring a directional user input that controls movement of the cursor.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein the plurality of links in the menu are repetitively navigable using a directional input directed in a single direction.

54. The method of claim 52, wherein:

the content portion has a boundary; and

the cursor is movable between at least two positions within the boundary of the content portion; and

the first user input consists of a directional input in a direction that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein the first user input consists of a directional input that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion in one direction.

56. The method of claim 55, further comprising removing the menu from the display upon entry of a directional input in the opposite direction.

57. The method of claim 51, wherein the links include a plurality of links that correspond to submenus;

and

the method further comprising;

monitoring the content of the content portion of the display; and

upon entry of the second input when the cursor is within a content portion of the display and the menu is not displayed, determining which of the submenus to display based on the content of the content portion.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein:

determining which of the submenus to display based on the content of the content portion comprises retrieving an identifier for the content of the content portion; and

determining which of the submenus to display comprises determining which of the submenus to display based on the identifier.

59. The method of claim 58, wherein the identifier is a filename of a content page displayed in the content portion.

60. The method of claim 51, wherein the content portion of the display displays a content page and at least one of the menu and the submenu contains a link to the content page.

61. The method of claim 51, wherein the second user input consists of a single keystroke.

62. A method for providing a graphical user interface on an electronic display, the method comprising:

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links;

monitoring a directional user input that controls movement of a cursor within a content portion of the display;

monitoring the position of the cursor within the content portion of the display, the content portion having a boundary, the content portion allowing movement of the cursor between at least two positions within the boundary of the content portion;

displaying the menu upon entry of a directional input in a direction that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion; and

removing the menu from the display upon entry of an opposite directional input.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the plurality of links in the menu are repetitively navigable using a directional input directed in a single direction.

64. The method of claim 62, wherein:

the links include at least one link that corresponds to a submenu, the submenu comprising a further plurality of links;

the content portion of the display displays a content page, at least one of the menu and the submenu containing a link to the content page; and

the method further comprising displaying the content page in the content portion and placing the cursor within the content page upon selection of the corresponding page link.

65. The method of claim 62, wherein the directional input consists of a directional input that would move the cursor beyond the boundary of the content portion in one direction.

66. The method of claim 62, wherein the directional input consists of a single keystroke.

67. Computer readable media containing a method for providing a navigation interface to a portable communications device, the method comprising:

monitoring a directional user input that controls movement of a cursor within a display of a portable communications device;

monitoring a select input of the portable communications device;

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links, the links being navigable using the directional user input, the menu, when displayed, being located to one side of the display; and

when the cursor is on the menu, selectively deactivating the menu and placing cursor focus within a content page displayed in a content portion of the display in response to a directional input in a direction opposite to the one side of the display.

68. Computer readable media containing a method for providing a navigation interface to a portable communications device, the method comprising:

monitoring a directional user input that controls movement of a cursor within a display of a portable communications device;

monitoring a select input of the portable communications device;

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links, the links being navigable using the directional user input, the menu, when displayed, being located to one side of the display;

displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on one of the links in the menu in response to a directional input in the direction of the one side of the display; and

when the cursor is on the menu, selectively opening the link in the menu on which the cursor is focused in response to a select input.

69. Computer readable media containing a method for providing a navigation interface to a portable communications device, the method comprising:

monitoring a directional user input that controls movement of a cursor within a display of a portable communications device;

monitoring a select input of the portable communications device;

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links, the links being navigable using the directional user input, the menu, when displayed, being located along one side of the display;

displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on one of the links in the menu in response to a directional input in the direction of the one side of the display; and

when the cursor is on the menu, selectively;

(a) deactivating the menu and placing cursor focus within a content page displayed in a content portion of the display in response to a directional input in a direction opposite to the one side of the display;

or

(b) opening the link in the menu on which the cursor is focused in response to a select input.

70. The computer readable media of claim 69, wherein, when the cursor is on the menu, the position of the cursor within the display remains static;

and

the method further comprises rotating the links of the menu through the cursor position in response to a directional input.

71. The computer readable media of claim 70, wherein the menu further comprises a highlight frame for indicating the position of the cursor on the menu.

72. The computer readable media of claim 69, wherein:

the one side of the display is the left side of the display; and

the method further comprises;

displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on one of the links in the menu in response to a LEFT directional input; and

when the cursor is on the menu;

rotating the links of the menu in response to an UP or DOWN directional input; and

deactivating the menu and placing cursor focus within a content page displayed in the content portion in response to a RIGHT directional input.

73. The computer readable media of claim 69, wherein:

displaying the menu along one side of the display comprises animating the menu so as to appear to slide onto the screen from the one side of the display; and

deactivating the menu comprises animating the menu so as to appear to slide off to the one side of the display.

74. The computer readable media of claim 73, wherein, after the menu slides off to the one side of the display, a portion of the menu remains visible along the one side of the display.

75. The computer readable media of claim 69, wherein the menu comprises a plurality of panels arranged in a single column, each of the panels corresponding to a link of the menu and displaying an icon that symbolizes the content page accessible via selection of the link.

76. The computer readable media of claim 69, wherein the menu comprises a menu wheel, the links of the menu wheel being repetitively navigable using a single directional input.

77. The computer readable media of claim 69, wherein the menu, when displayed, appears to overlie a portion of a content page displayed in the content portion of the display.

78. The computer readable media of claim 77, wherein displaying the menu along one side of the display further comprises displaying the remainder of the content page in the content portion with reduced brightness.

79. The computer readable media of claim 69, wherein placing cursor focus within the content page comprises placing cursor focus on an uppermost link within the content page.

80. The computer readable media of claim 79, wherein placing cursor focus on an uppermost link comprises indicating the position of the cursor by one of:

block highlighting text within the link; and

changing the color of text within the link.

81. The computer readable media of claim 69, wherein the menu comprises a link to a content page for containing content related to one of:

sports scores;

sports news;

sports statistics; and

a fantasy sports team.

82. The computer readable media of claim 81, wherein the method further comprises personalizing the navigation interface based on personalization data indicating a favorite sports team of a user of the portable communications device.

83. The computer readable media of claim 69, wherein the method further comprises:

on startup of the navigation interface, displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on a default one of the links.

84. The computer readable media of claim 83, wherein the default one of the links corresponds to a content page containing links to sports-related news items.

85. The computer readable media of claim 69, wherein the display includes:

a softkey portion for labeling the function of softkeys of the portable communications device, the softkey portion comprising bottom corner portions of the display; and

a message portion for displaying scrolling text messages, the message portion comprising a bottom center portion of the display.

86. The computer readable media of claim 85, wherein the scrolling text messages include rotating sports scores.

87. A cellular telephone system, comprising:

at least one cellular telephone; and

a content server for providing a cellular telephone with access to digital content through the cellular telephone system;

the system further comprising computer readable media containing a method for providing the cellular telephone with a navigation interface, the method comprising;

monitoring a directional user input that controls movement of a cursor within a display of the cellular telephone;

monitoring a select input of the cellular telephone;

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links to content pages hosted by the content server, the links being navigable using the directional user input, the menu, when displayed, being located to one side of the display;

when the cursor is on the menu, selectively deactivating the menu and placing cursor focus within a content page displayed in a content portion of the display in response to a directional input in a direction opposite to the one side of the display.

88. A cellular telephone system, comprising:

at least one cellular telephone; and

a content server for providing a cellular telephone with access to digital content through the cellular telephone system;

the system further comprising computer readable media containing a method for providing the cellular telephone with a navigation interface, the method comprising;

monitoring a directional user input that controls movement of a cursor within a display of the cellular telephone;

monitoring a select input of the cellular telephone;

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links to content pages hosted by the content server, the links being navigable using the directional user input, the menu, when displayed, being located to one side of the display;

displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on one of the links in the menu in response to a directional input in the direction of the one side of the display; and

when the cursor is on the menu, selectively opening the link on which the cursor is focused in response to a select input.

89. A cellular telephone system, comprising:

at least one cellular telephone; and

a content server for providing a cellular telephone with access to digital content through the cellular telephone system;

the system further comprising computer readable media containing a method for providing the cellular telephone with a navigation interface, the method comprising;

monitoring a directional user input that controls movement of a cursor within a display of the cellular telephone;

monitoring a select input of the cellular telephone;

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links to content pages hosted by the content server, the links being navigable using the directional user input, the menu, when displayed, being located along one side of the display;

displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on one of the links in the menu in response to a directional input in the direction of the one side of the display; and

when the cursor is on the menu, selectively;

(a) deactivating the menu and placing cursor focus within a content page displayed in a content portion of the display in response to a directional input in a direction opposite to the one side of the display;

or

(b) opening the link on which the cursor is focused in response to a select input.

90. The system of claim 89, wherein, when the cursor is on the menu, the position of the cursor within the display remains static;

and

the method further comprises rotating the links of the menu through the cursor position in response to a directional input.

91. The system of claim 90, wherein the menu further comprises a highlight frame for indicating the position of the cursor on the menu.

92. The system of claim 89, wherein:

the one side of the display is the left side of the display; and

the method further comprises;

displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on one of the links in the menu in response to a LEFT directional input; and

when the cursor is on the menu;

rotating the links of the menu in response to an UP or DOWN directional input; and

deactivating the menu and placing cursor focus within a content page displayed in the content portion in response to a RIGHT directional input.

93. The system of claim 89, wherein:

displaying the menu along one side of the display comprises animating the menu so as to appear to slide onto the screen from the one side of the display; and

deactivating the menu comprises animating the menu so as to appear to slide off to the one side of the display.

94. The system of claim 93, wherein, after the menu slides off to the one side of the display, a portion of the menu remains visible along the one side of the display.

95. The system of claim 89, wherein the menu comprises a plurality of panels arranged in a single column, each of the panels corresponding to a link of the menu and displaying an icon that symbolizes the content page accessible via selection of the link.

96. The system of claim 89, wherein the menu comprises a menu wheel, the links of the menu wheel being repetitively navigable using a single directional input.

97. The system of claim 89, wherein the menu, when displayed, appears to overlie a portion of a content page displayed in the content portion of the display.

98. The system of claim 97, wherein displaying the menu along one side of the display further comprises displaying the remainder of the content page in the content portion with reduced brightness.

99. The system of claim 89, wherein placing cursor focus within the content page comprises placing cursor focus on an uppermost link within the content page.

100. The system of claim 99, wherein placing cursor focus on an uppermost link comprises indicating the position of the cursor by one of:

block highlighting text within the link; and

changing the color of text within the link.

101. The system of claim 89, wherein the menu comprises a link to a content page for containing content related to one of:

sports scores;

sports news;

sports statistics; and

a fantasy sports team.

102. The system of claim 101, wherein the method further comprises personalizing the navigation interface based on personalization data indicating a favorite sports team of a user of the one cellular telephone.

103. The system of claim 89, wherein the method further comprises:

on startup of the navigation interface, displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on a default one of the links.

104. The system of claim 103, wherein the default one of the links corresponds to a content page containing links to sports-related news items.

105. The system of claim 89, wherein the display includes:

a softkey portion for labeling the function of softkeys of the cellular telephone, the softkey portion comprising bottom corner portions of the display; and

a message portion for displaying scrolling text messages provided by a content server, the message portion comprising a bottom center portion of the display.

106. The system of claim 105, wherein the scrolling text messages include rotating sports scores.

107. A portable communications device comprising:

a transceiver for transmitting and receiving wireless signals;

a display;

a directional input that controls movement of a cursor within the display;

a select input;

a processor configured to control the display of a graphical user interface on the display; and

computer readable media containing a method for providing a navigation interface for the portable communications device, the method comprising;

monitoring the directional user input;

monitoring the select input;

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links, the links being navigable using the directional user input, the menu, when displayed, being located along one side of the display; and

when the cursor is on the menu, selectively deactivating the menu and placing cursor focus within a content page displayed in a content portion of the display in response to a directional input in a direction opposite to the one side of the display.

108. A portable communications device comprising:

a transceiver for transmitting and receiving wireless signals;

a display;

a directional input that controls movement of a cursor within the display;

a select input;

a processor configured to control the display of a graphical user interface on the display; and

computer readable media containing a method for providing a navigation interface for the portable communications device, the method comprising;

monitoring the directional user input;

monitoring the select input;

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links, the links being navigable using the directional user input, the menu, when displayed, being located along one side of the display;

displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on one of the links in the menu in response to a directional input in the direction of the one side of the display; and

when the cursor is on the menu, selectively opening the link on which the cursor is focused in response to a select input.

109. A portable communications device comprising:

a transceiver for transmitting and receiving wireless signals;

a display;

a directional input that controls movement of a cursor within the display;

a select input;

a processor configured to control the display of a graphical user interface on the display; and

computer readable media containing a method for providing a navigation interface for the portable communications device, the method comprising;

monitoring the directional user input;

monitoring the select input;

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links, the links being navigable using the directional user input, the menu, when displayed, being located along one side of the display;

displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on one of the links in the menu in response to a directional input in the direction of the one side of the display; and

when the cursor is on the menu, selectively;

(a) deactivating the menu and placing cursor focus within a content page displayed in a content portion of the display in response to a directional input in a direction opposite to the one side of the display;

or

(b) opening the link on which the cursor is focused in response to a select input.

110. The portable communications device of claim 109, wherein, when the cursor is on the menu, the position of the cursor within the display remains static;

and

the method further comprises rotating the links of the menu through the cursor position in response to a directional input.

111. The portable communications device of claim 110, wherein the menu further comprises a highlight frame for indicating the position of the cursor on the menu.

112. The portable communications device of claim 109, wherein:

the one side of the display is the left side of the display; and

the method further comprises;

displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on one of the links in the menu in response to a LEFT directional input; and

when the cursor is on the menu;

rotating the links of the menu in response to an UP or DOWN directional input; and

deactivating the menu and placing cursor focus within a content page displayed in the content portion in response to a RIGHT directional input.

113. The portable communications device of claim 109, wherein:

displaying the menu along one side of the display comprises animating the menu so as to appear to slide onto the screen from the one side of the display; and

deactivating the menu comprises animating the menu so as to appear to slide off to the one side of the display.

114. The portable communications device of claim 113, wherein, after the menu slides off to the one side of the display, a portion of the menu remains visible along the one side of the display.

115. The portable communications device of claim 109, wherein the menu comprises a plurality of panels arranged in a single column, each of the panels corresponding to a link of the menu and displaying an icon that symbolizes the content page accessible via selection of the link.

116. The portable communications device of claim 109, wherein the menu comprises a menu wheel, the links of the menu wheel being repetitively navigable using a single directional input.

117. The portable communications device of claim 109, wherein the menu, when displayed, appears to overlie a portion of a content page displayed in the content portion of the display.

118. The portable communications device of claim 117, wherein displaying the menu along one side of the display further comprises displaying the remainder of the content page in the content portion with reduced brightness.

119. The portable communications device of claim 109, wherein placing cursor focus within the content page comprises placing cursor focus on an uppermost link within the content page.

120. The portable communications device of claim 119, wherein placing cursor focus on an uppermost link comprises indicating the position of the cursor by one of:

block highlighting text within the link; and

changing the color of text within the link.

121. The portable communications device of claim 109, wherein the menu comprises a link to a content page for containing content related to one of:

sports scores;

sports news;

sports statistics; and

a fantasy sports team.

122. The portable communications device of claim 121, wherein the method further comprises personalizing the navigation interface based on personalization data indicating a favorite sports team of a user of the portable communications device.

123. The portable communications device of claim 109, wherein the method further comprises:

on startup of the navigation interface, displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on a default one of the links.

124. The portable communications device of claim 123, wherein the default one of the links corresponds to a content page containing links to sports-related news items.

125. The portable communications device of claim 109, wherein the display includes:

a softkey portion for labeling the function of softkeys of the portable communications device, the softkey portion comprising bottom corner portions of the display; and

a message portion for displaying scrolling text messages provided by a content server, the message portion comprising a bottom center portion of the display.

126. The portable communications device of claim 125, wherein the scrolling text messages include rotating sports scores.

127. A method for providing a navigation interface for a portable communications device, the method comprising:

monitoring a directional user input that controls movement of a cursor within a display of the portable communications device;

monitoring a select input of the portable communications device;

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links, the links being navigable using the directional user input, the menu, when displayed, being located to one side of the display; and

when the cursor is on the menu, selectively deactivating the menu and placing cursor focus within a content page displayed in a content portion of the display in response to a directional input in a direction opposite to the one side of the display.

128. A method for providing a navigation interface for a portable communications device, the method comprising:

monitoring a directional user input that controls movement of a cursor within a display of the portable communications device;

monitoring a select input of the portable communications device;

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links, the links being navigable using the directional user input, the menu, when displayed, being located to one side of the display;

displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on one of the links in the menu in response to a directional input in the direction of the one side of the display; and

when the cursor is on the menu, selectively opening the link on which the cursor is focused in response to a select input.

129. A method for providing a navigation interface for a portable communications device, the method comprising:

monitoring a directional user input that controls movement of a cursor within a display of the portable communications device;

monitoring a select input of the portable communications device;

providing a menu, the menu comprising a plurality of links, the links being navigable using the directional user input, the menu, when displayed, being located along one side of the display;

displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on one of the links in the menu in response to a directional input in the direction of the one side of the display; and

when the cursor is on the menu, selectively;

(a) deactivating the menu and placing cursor focus within a content page displayed in a content portion of the display in response to a directional input in a direction opposite to the one side of the display;

or

(b) opening the link on which the cursor is focused in response to a select input.

130. The method of claim 129, wherein, when the cursor is on the menu, the position of the cursor within the display remains static;

and

the method further comprises rotating the links of the menu through the cursor position in response to a directional input.

131. The method of claim 130, wherein the menu further comprises a highlight frame for indicating the position of the cursor on the menu.

132. The method of claim 129, wherein:

the one side of the display is the left side of the display; and

the method further comprises;

displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on one of the links in the menu in response to a LEFT directional input; and

when the cursor is on the menu;

rotating the links of the menu in response to an UP or DOWN directional input; and

deactivating the menu and placing cursor focus within a content page displayed in the content portion in response to a RIGHT directional input.

133. The method of claim 129, wherein:

displaying the menu along one side of the display comprises animating the menu so as to appear to slide onto the screen from the one side of the display; and

deactivating the menu comprises animating the menu so as to appear to slide off of the one side of the display.

134. The method of claim 133, wherein, after the menu slides off to the one side of the display, a portion of the menu remains visible along the one side of the display.

135. The method of claim 129, wherein the menu comprises a plurality of panels arranged in a single column, each of the panels corresponding to a link of the menu and displaying an icon that symbolizes the content page accessible via selection of the link.

136. The method of claim 129, wherein the menu comprises a menu wheel, the links of the menu wheel being repetitively navigable using a single directional input.

137. The method of claim 129, wherein the menu, when displayed, appears to overlie a portion of a content page displayed in the content portion of the display.

138. The method of claim 137, wherein displaying the menu along one side of the display further comprises displaying the remainder of the content page in the content portion with reduced brightness.

139. The method of claim 129, wherein placing cursor focus within the content page comprises placing cursor focus on an uppermost link within the content page.

140. The method of claim 139, wherein placing cursor focus on an uppermost link comprises indicating the position of the cursor by one of:

block highlighting text within the link; and

changing the color of text within the link.

141. The method of claim 129, wherein the menu comprises a link to a content page for containing content related to one of:

sports scores;

sports news;

sports statistics; and

a fantasy sports team.

142. The method of claim 141, further comprising personalizing the navigation interface based on personalization data indicating a favorite sports team of a user of the portable communications device.

143. The method of claim 129, further comprising:

on startup of the navigation interface, displaying the menu along the one side of the display and placing cursor focus on a default one of the links.

144. The method of claim 143, wherein the default one of the links corresponds to a content page containing links to sports-related news items.

145. The method of claim 129, wherein the display includes:

a softkey portion for labeling the function of softkeys of the portable communications device, the softkey portion comprising bottom corner portions of the display; and

a message portion for displaying scrolling text messages, the message portion comprising a bottom center portion of the display.

146. The method of claim 145, wherein the scrolling text messages include rotating sports scores.