Method and apparatus for multi-mode traversal of lists
First Claim
1. In a portable electronic device having a user input device and a display, a method for assisted traversal of a list of items, said method comprising:
- displaying, on the display of the portable electronic device, an initial set of media items from the list that have a current character as a significant character;
receiving, via the user input device, a user input pertaining to a traversal action through the list;
determining whether to traverse the list in a character mode; and
displaying, on the display, a next character when the list is being traversed in the character mode.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Improved methods and systems that assist a user in navigating lists of ordered items are disclosed. According to one embodiment, a character scroll mode enables a user to conveniently and efficiently traverse a list in accordance with one or more significant characters of the items in the list. In one implementation, the list is a list of media items that are arranged in an ordered way. For example, the media items in the list can be arranged alphabetically. Besides the character scroll mode, the user is able to traverse the list in a quantity scroll mode, which may or may not provide acceleration.
49 Citations
36 Claims
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1. In a portable electronic device having a user input device and a display, a method for assisted traversal of a list of items, said method comprising:
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displaying, on the display of the portable electronic device, an initial set of media items from the list that have a current character as a significant character; receiving, via the user input device, a user input pertaining to a traversal action through the list; determining whether to traverse the list in a character mode; and displaying, on the display, a next character when the list is being traversed in the character mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 5, 11, 12, 13)
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4. A method as recited 3, wherein said displaying of the next character is displayed within a partially transparent overlay.
- 6. A method as recited 1, wherein said determining of whether to traverse the list in a character mode is based on characteristics of the user input.
- 9. A method as recited 8, wherein said displaying of the next character is displayed within a partially transparent overlay.
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14. A method for selecting an item in a list of items, said method comprising:
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receiving a user input having characteristics; and determining whether to utilize a first list traverse mode or a second list traverse mode based on the characteristics of the user input; when in the first list traverse mode, determining a next set of the items in the list to be displayed; and displaying the determined next set of items; when in the second list traverse mode, determining a next initial character within the list; determining an initial set of items from the list that have the next initial character as their initial significant character; and displaying the determined initial set of items from the list. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A computer readable medium including at least computer program code for assisting a user of an electronic device in selecting an item in a list of items, said method comprising:
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computer program code for receiving a user input having characteristics; and computer program code for determining whether to utilize a first list traverse mode or a second list traverse mode based on the characteristics of the user input. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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25. A computer readable medium as recited 24, wherein the next character is displayed within a partially transparent overlay provided over the determined initial set of items from the list also being displayed.
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31. A media playback device, comprising:
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a display device; a user input device; at least one memory device capable of storing a plurality of media items and computer program code for displaying and navigating the plurality of media items; and a processing device operatively connected to said display device, said user input device and said at least one memory device, said processing device capable of executing the computer program code for displaying and navigating the plurality of media items, wherein the computer program code for displaying and navigating the plurality of media items includes at least; computer program code for receiving a user input having characteristics; and computer program code for determining whether to utilize a first list traverse mode or a second list traverse mode based on at least one characteristic of the user input. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification