HK1103150A - Mobile communications terminal having an improved user interface and method therefor - Google Patents

Description

Mobile communication terminal with improved user interface and method thereof

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal having a graphical user interface and to a method of operating a user interface.

Background

Mobile communication terminals, such as mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and the like, have been developed as computer terminals providing almost the same functions as computer workstations or PCs. These mobile terminals include office applications, internet browsers, game platforms, and the like.

Many of the most advanced mobile communication terminals currently operate with GUI Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) similar to those used in workstations and PCs. However, mobile communication terminals typically lack a pointer device such as a mouse and have an inherently much smaller available display area than computer workstations and PCs.

Thus, prior art GUIs for Mobile communication terminals, such as Symbian Series60 or Windows Mobile 2003 software for Smart phone ®, display only one window at a time, and a single window contains much less information than a comparable window in a GUI for a PC or workstation. In the above-mentioned GUI for mobile communication terminals, a contact or phonebook list of standard configuration displays a list of names, but without further details. The items in the list can optionally be highlighted and when the highlighted item is selected, a new window is displayed with details of the corresponding item. The user has to close the window containing the detailed contact information to return to the list.

A contact list or phonebook in a PC or workstation GUI will be able to display a window with a list of entries in one area of the window and details of the currently highlighted entry in another area of the window under comparable circumstances. This way of presenting information will give the user a better overall impression and facilitate navigation between entries in the phone book or address book. However, the display size of the mobile communication terminal is not sufficient to implement a PC or workstation type GUI thereon.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides a mobile communication terminal, comprising: a user interface including a display component and an input component; a processor configured to control operation of the terminal, the terminal configured to receive input from a user via the input means and to run an application on the terminal, the processor also configured to show on the display means a partitioned application area having two or more application area parts when the application is running on the terminal, the processor further configured to at least temporarily define an initial one of the application area parts as a larger application area part shown in the partitioned application area and at the same time at least temporarily define a complementary one of the application area parts as a smaller application area part shown in the partitioned application area, and the processor configured to at least temporarily redefine the initial one of the application area parts as a smaller application area part shown in the partitioned application area and at the same time at least temporarily redefine the complementary one of the application area parts as a larger application shown in the partitioned application area in response to user input The processor is configured to allocate within the partitioned application area a proportion of each area between the larger application area portion and the smaller application area portion.

The present invention also provides a method of operating a user interface of a mobile communication terminal having a display part and an input part, the method comprising the steps of: running the application; displaying on a display component a partitioned application area having two or more application area sections; temporarily defining an initial one of the application area portions as a larger application area portion shown in the partitioned application area and simultaneously at least temporarily defining a complementary one of the application area portions as a smaller application area portion shown within the partitioned application area; temporarily redefining an initial one of the application area portions as a smaller application area portion shown within the partitioned application area and simultaneously at least temporarily redefining a complementary one of the application area portions as a larger application area portion shown within the partitioned application area in response to user input; and allocating within the partitioned application area a ratio of respective areas between the larger application area portion and the smaller application area portion.

The present invention also provides a computer readable medium containing instructions for controlling a mobile communication terminal having a display section and an input section to: when the application is running, showing a partitioned application area on the display component having two or more application area sections; temporarily defining an initial one of the application area portions as a larger application area portion shown in the partitioned application area and simultaneously at least temporarily defining a complementary one of the application area portions as a smaller application area portion shown within the partitioned application area; temporarily redefining said initial one of said application area sections as a smaller application area section shown within a partitioned application area and simultaneously at least temporarily redefining a complementary one of said application area sections as a larger application area section shown within a partitioned application area in response to user input; and allocating within the partitioned application area a ratio of respective areas between the larger application area portion and the smaller application area portion.

Using this terminal, method of operating a user interface and computer readable medium, the user has the following general overview, which generally means that it is possible to have one PC or workstation, because both application area parts of an application area are always visible, while the space limitations of the display of the mobile terminal are overcome by dynamically allocating the area available for each application area part.

Drawings

In the detailed description section below of the present description, the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings, in which:

fig. 1a is a front perspective view of a mobile communication terminal according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1b is another perspective view of the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 1a, showing the front and top of the terminal;

fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware structure of the mobile communication terminal of fig. 1 a;

fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a software structure of the mobile communication terminal of fig. 1 a;

FIG. 4 is a screen shot of a desktop of the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 1 a;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating regions of a display of the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 1 a;

FIG. 6 is another screen shot of the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 1 a;

fig. 7 is a front view of a mobile communication terminal according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an area of a display of the mobile communication terminal of fig. 7;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are screen shots of a messaging application for the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a process for allocating display area to application area portions;

fig. 12 and 13 are screen shots of a phonebook application for the mobile communication terminal of fig. 7; and

fig. 14 and 15 are screen shots of variations of the phonebook application of fig. 12 and 13.

Detailed Description

In the following detailed description, a mobile communication terminal according to the invention in the form of a hand-held portable telephone, preferably a cellular/mobile telephone, will be described with the aid of a preferred embodiment. The term mobile communication terminal as used herein includes all hand-held portable terminals provided with a wireless and wired form of connection to a network or other terminal. Another example of such a terminal may be a PDA with Wi-Fi ® functionality.

Referring now to fig. 1a and 1b, a mobile phone 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. The mobile phone 1 has a housing, a switch key 2, a stylus-operated touch screen 3, an on/off button 4, a clear key 5, an earpiece 8 (only an opening is shown), a hands-free speaker 11 (only an opening is shown), a microphone 7 (only an opening is shown), a charger connector 9, and a Pop-Port^TM10. The phone 1 according to the preferred embodiment is adapted for communication via a cellular network, such as a GSM900/1800MHz network, but could just as well be adapted for use with a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, a 3G network or a TCP/IP based network (e.g. via WLAN, WIMAX or similar).

The mobile phone has a flat touch sensitive display 3, which is typically made of an LCD with optional back lighting, such as a TFT matrix capable of displaying color images.

A releasable rear cover (not shown) gives an interface to a rechargeable battery pack (not shown) on the back of the phone, which provides power to the electronic components of the mobile phone.

The zoom and toggle key 2 is arranged on the right hand side of the display 3. The function of these keys depends on the application and the current view. These keys may make zoom options available when applicable and enable switching between different views of an application. When using the handset, pressing these keys is used to increase or decrease the volume level, respectively. The zoom and toggle keys 2 are also used for playing games. A four-way plus selection key 6 is arranged on the left side of the display and can be used for cursor movement, scrolling and selection.

The mobile phone is additionally provided with call processing keys 12 (on-hook and off-hook), a switch key 13, a menu key 14 and a desk key 15. Two call handling keys 12 are used for establishing a call or a conference call, terminating a call or rejecting an incoming call. The swap key 13 swaps between the earpiece 8 and the hands-free speaker 11. The menu key 14 gives direct access to the menu, repeatedly pressing to move between dialog pages. The desktop key 15 opens a desktop application, which is the main view of the terminal.

There are two ways to enter text (letters, numbers and special characters) for entering a telephone number, writing a text message (SMS, MMS, e-mail), writing a name (associated with a telephone number), etc. The first way is by writing characters directly on the touch screen 3 using a stylus (not shown). Handwriting recognition converts handwriting into characters. The second way is by clicking on characters of an on-screen keyboard displayed on the touch screen.

Fig. 2 shows in block diagram form the hardware structure of a mobile phone 1 constructed in accordance with the invention. The processor 18 controls the communication with the cellular network via the transmitter/receiver circuit 19 and the built-in antenna 20. The microphone 7 converts the user's speech into analog signals, the analog signals thus formed being a/D converted in an a/D converter (not shown) before the speech is encoded by a digital signal processing unit 14 (DSP). The encoded speech signal is forwarded to a processor 18 which supports, for example, GSM terminal software. The processor 18 also forms the interface with the peripheral units of the device, including the RAM memory 17a and the flash ROM memory 17b, the SIM card 16, the touch screen 3, the Pop-Port^TM10 and keys 2, 4-6, 12-15 (as well as data, power, etc.). The digital signal processing unit 14 speech-decodes the signal, which has passed through DAn/a converter (not shown) is communicated from the processor 18 to the earpiece 8 or hands free speaker 11.

Referring now to fig. 3, the software structure of the mobile terminal includes:

the operating system, Symbian OS v7.0s, which provides basic services to the 90 Series development platform 2.0(Series 90 Developer platform 2.0);

basic software — a common set of APIs found in all devices using the 90 series and software;

development platform 2.0;

boot software — extending the APIs and software of the 90 series development platform 2.0 in the execution of a device or devices;

application-functionality provided to a user, including:

communication applications such as telephony, messaging, and internet browsers with Macromedia Flash players;

media applications such as image readers, cameras, music players, sound recorders, RealPlayer, and FM broadcasts;

a Personal Information Manager (PIM) with calendar, task and contact applications;

office support with word processor, chart and presentation reader applications; and

user interface-one of a range of user interfaces, device screen orientation and resolution, keyboard, etc. that are executed on a device using the development platform.

The main view of the terminal is the desktop. A screenshot of the top of the page is shown in figure 4. The desktop includes:

a title area 16, displaying application names and groups, names or other details about the status of the applications. Access to the menu is obtained by clicking on the title area or by pressing the menu key 14;

a status indicator area 17 displaying status icons, indicating received mail, ongoing calls, silent profiles (silent profile), clock alarms, signal strength, battery level, data connections, etc.;

a toolbar 18 containing shortcuts to frequently used applications or to useful tools in an application;

a scroll bar 19 that can be clicked or dragged to scroll the screen.

In most cases both the stylus and the four-way keys 6 can be used for navigation and the methods can be mixed. The application is opened by double-clicking the application icon 20 (first selecting the application icon and then clicking it again to open it), or by selecting the application icon with the four-way navigation key and then pressing the center of the four-way navigation key.

When the application is opened, the screen changes to the format shown in fig. 5, which has an application area 22, a title area above the application area, a command button 24 beside the application area, an indicator area 21 with a status icon at the top and a clock area 25 below the command button 24. A toolbar (not shown) can be displayed at the bottom of the touch screen. A screenshot of an open application, in this case a text editing application, is shown in fig. 6.

According to another embodiment shown in fig. 7, the mobile terminal uses a touchscreen 3 having a portrait layout. The mobile phone 1 according to the second embodiment of the invention has substantially the same components, structure, software and hardware architecture as the mobile phone according to the first embodiment. The main difference is in the layout of the touch screen and the keys, enabling the terminal to be used in the portrait mode in the upper right corner position of the display. Identical parts of both embodiments have the same reference numerals. Microphone, charger connector and Pop-Port^TM(neither shown) is arranged at the bottom of the housing. An opening for a hands free speaker (not shown) is arranged on the right side of the housing.

The desktop of the second embodiment is substantially the same as the desktop shown in the first embodiment, except that the display is in portrait format.

When the application is opened, the screen changes to the format shown in fig. 8, with an application area 22, a title area 23 on the application area, command buttons 24 on the title area, an indicator area 21 with status icons, and a clock area 25 on top. In some applications, the application area is partitioned into two application area portions 22a and 22 b. In some other applications (not shown), the application area is partitioned into three or more application area sections. A toolbar (not shown) can be displayed at the bottom of the display.

A screenshot of an open application, in this case a messaging application, is shown in fig. 9. The messaging application is capable of handling several types of messages such as SMS, MMS, e-mail, etc. The command button 24 has functions "New" (clicking the command button creates a New message), "Reply" (clicking the command button creates a Reply message to a highlighted or open message), "Forward" (clicking the command button creates a forwarded message for a highlighted or open message), and "Delete" (clicking the command button deletes a highlighted or open message). The header area indicates the message inbox containing 23 messages. The application area 22 is partitioned into an application area portion 22a and an application area portion 22 b.

Application area section 22a displays the messages in the inbox (sender and at least a portion of the subject matter of the message) as a scrollable list of selectable items. The messages can be listed according to user selectable criteria such as the date of receipt. The scroll bar 28 allows the user to scroll through the list by clicking or dragging with a stylus. The four-way navigation key 6 can also be used for scrolling through a list. When the inbox is open, the application area section 22a is allocated approximately three quarters of the application area 22, in which state it is considered as a temporarily larger application area section. This large section can therefore list the actual number of messages, giving the user a good overview of the inbox.

Highlighting one of the messages in the inbox; the first message on the list is by default. The highlighting is obtained by a bright blue frame (representing the effective focus), which is shown in the figure with a grey scale. The user can highlight a message by clicking on it with a stylus or by jumping the highlighting from one message to the next in the list using the four-way navigation key 6. Information relating to the highlighted message is shown in the temporary smaller display area section 22 b. Only about one quarter of the application area 22 is allocated to the display area section 22b and therefore only message details and subject matter can be displayed. Thus, the display area section 22b functions as a preview window in this state.

When the user selects a highlighted message in the inbox, approximately three quarters of the display area 22 is allocated to display area section 22b, which is then considered to be the temporarily larger application area section, as shown in FIG. 10. It is now possible to display a substantial part of the message details, subject matter and message text (even the complete message text if it is short) in the display area section 22 b. In this state, the display area section 22b functions as a message reading window. Some of the message details in the application area section 22b can be selectable items. The highlighting in the application area section 22a has changed from light blue to light olive green to indicate that the effective focus has changed to the application area 22 (light olive green is shown in the figure with a grey scale). The sender, recipient and subject fields in the application portion 22b are highlighted by a light blue box, represented in the figure by a grey scale.

If the user returns to the inbox, for example by clicking on one of the messages in the inbox in the application area section 22a or by clicking/dragging the scroll bar 28, three quarters of the display area 22 is allocated to the display area section 22a, which is then again the temporarily larger application area section and one quarter of the display area 22b, as shown in figure 9. The user has now a good overview of the inbox again. The user can also simply touch (or click with a stylus) any of the display area sections in order to render it to a temporarily larger application area section.

The message list operates in a similar manner for a list of sent, drafted or deleted messages.

Fig. 11 shows a flowchart illustrating an application area allocation process according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. When the application using the dynamic application area allocation process starts at step 11.1 the processor determines in step 11.2 which of the application area sections 22a, 22b is the default temporarily larger application area section. In step 11.3 the processor allocates three quarters (75%) of the application area 22 to the application area part that has been determined to be the larger one and one quarter (25%) of the application area 22 to the other (complementary) application area part. In step 11.4 the processor displays the partitioned application area with two unequally sized portions as determined in steps 11.2 and 11.3. In step 11.5 the processor checks for user input and continues to do so until user input is received. When user input is received the processor determines which of the two application area sections is the temporarily larger one in step 11.2 and repeats the processing of steps 11.3, 11.4 and 11.5. The effect of step 11.2 depends on the type of user input. If, for example, scrolling through a list in an application area section that has been temporarily the larger section, there will be no change in the allocation of application space. However, if an item from the list in the temporarily larger application area section is selected, the other application area section with details relating to the selected item will become the temporarily larger application area section. The ratio between the larger and smaller application area portions can be fixed or predetermined, or can depend on the content, type and amount of information to be displayed.

Referring now to fig. 12 and 13, there are shown screenshots of another application, namely a phonebook, using the dynamic application area allocation process according to the preferred embodiment. The phonebook application handles many types of address information such as name, phone number, address, company, e-mail, etc. The command buttons 24 have the functions "Open" (clicking the command button opens a highlighted contact entry), "Call" (clicking the command button initiates a Call to a highlighted or Open contact entry), "Create message" (clicking the command button creates a message for a highlighted or Open message), "Delete" (clicking the command button deletes a highlighted or Open contact entry), and (fig. 13) "Edit" (clicking the command button enables editing of an Open contact entry). Title area 21 indicates a phonebook contact list representing all stored contacts. A selection bar 27 below the header area allows the user to select a range of letters in the contact list. The application area 22 is partitioned into an application area portion 22a and an application area portion 22 b.

Application area section 22a displays the underlying data for the contact entries (first and last names) in the contact list as a scrollable list of selectable items. The contact entries can be listed according to user selectable criteria such as alphabetical order after the last or first name. The scroll bar 28 allows the user to scroll through the list by clicking or dragging with the stylus. The list can also be scrolled using the four-way navigation key 6. About three quarters of the application area 22 is allocated to application area section 22a when the phonebook is opened, which in this state is considered to be the temporarily larger application area section. This temporarily large section can therefore list the actual number of contact entries, giving the user a good overview of the contact entry list.

One of the contact entries in the inbox is highlighted, with the first contact entry in the list by default. The user can highlight a contact entry by clicking on it with a stylus or by jumping the highlight from one contact entry to the next in the list using the four-way navigation key 6. Information relating to the highlighted contact entry is shown in the temporarily smaller display area section 22 b. Only about one quarter of the application area 22 is allocated to the display area section 22b and therefore only contact names, companies, themes, primary phone numbers and small photograph icons can be displayed. So that the display area section 22b in this state functions as a preview window.

When the user selects a highlighted contact entry in the contact list, approximately three quarters of the display area 22 is allocated to display area section 22b, which is then the temporarily larger application area section, as shown in fig. 13. The contact number, title, all telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address and physical address can now be shown in display area section 22 b. In this state, the display area section 22b functions as a contact study window. Some of the contact details in application area section 22b may be selectable items.

If the user returns to the contact list, for example by clicking on one of the contact entries in the contact list in application area section 22a or by clicking/dragging scroll bar 28, three quarters of the display area 22 is allocated to display area section 22a, which is then again the temporarily larger application area section, and one quarter of the display area 22 is allocated to display area 22b, as shown in figure 12. The user now has a good overview of the contact list again. The user can also simply touch (or click with a stylus) any of the display area portions to present it to the temporarily larger application area portion.

The command button 24 can be used both when the application area section 22a is a temporarily larger section and when the application area section 22b is a temporarily larger section. When the application area section 22a is a temporarily larger section, the buttons 24 can be used to open, call, create a message for a contact or delete the contact. When application area section 22b is a temporarily larger section, command buttons 24 may be used to call, edit, create a message for a contact or delete a contact.

Referring now to fig. 14 and 15, screen shots show variations of the phonebook application described above. The change can be effected by a change in a user-controllable setting. In this variation, the command button is not shown when the application area section 22a with the contact entry list is the temporarily larger application area section. Once the user action causes the application area 22b to have the selected contact entry details/information to become the temporarily larger application area window, the command button is displayed and can be used to act on the contact entry shown in the application area section 22 b. In this variation, the available display size for the contact list is maximized, giving the user an even further enhanced overview of the list.

The invention may also include software and computer programs incorporating the above-described process steps and instructions which are executed in one or more of the processes. FIG. 16 is a block diagram of one embodiment of an exemplary apparatus 50 incorporating features of the present invention that may be used to practice the invention. As shown, computer system 52 may be linked to another computer system 54, such that computers 52 and 54 are capable of sending information to each other and receiving information from each other. In one embodiment, the computer system 50 may include a server computer 54 adapted to communicate with a network 56, such as a mobile communication system. Computer systems 52 and 54 may be linked together in any conventional manner including a modem, hard wire connection, wireless connection, or fiber optic link. Generally, information may be made available to computer systems 52 and 54, which typically send using communications over a communication channel or through a dial-up connection on ISDN line. The computer 52 is generally adapted to utilize program storage devices embodied as machine-readable program source code adapted to cause the computer 52 to perform the method steps of the present invention. The program storage devices incorporating features of the present invention may be devised, made and used as a component of a machine utilizing optics, magnetic properties and/or electronics to perform the procedures and methods of the present invention. In alternative embodiments, the program storage device may include magnetic media such as a diskette or computer hard drive, readable and executable by a computer. In other alternative embodiments, the program storage devices can include optical disks, read-only memories ("ROMs"), floppy disks, and semiconductor materials and chips.

The computer system 52 may also include a microprocessor for executing stored programs. Computer 52 may include a data storage device 58 on its program storage device for information and data storage. Computer programs or software incorporating the processes and method steps incorporating features of the present invention may be stored on otherwise conventional program storage devices in one or more computers 52 and 54. In one embodiment, computer 52 may include a user interface 51, and a display interface 53 from which features of the present invention can be derived. The user interface 58 and the display interface 53 can be adapted to allow the input of queries and commands to the system, as well as to present the results of the commands and queries.

The dynamic application area allocation process has been described with reference to two applications selected for purposes of illustration. It is clear that this process can be advantageously used by many other types of applications, such as:

printing: querying in one section a list of print jobs and details of the print jobs highlighted in the other section;

downloading/uploading: a list of ongoing downloads/uploads in one section and details of downloads/uploads highlighted in other sections;

image browsing: a list of image files in one section and thumbnails of images highlighted in other sections, the thumbnails becoming larger images when the section concerned becomes a temporarily larger section;

and (3) calendar: the week overview in the first section, and the details of the highlighted day in the second section, when the week overview section is a temporarily larger section, it represents the calendar entry and possibly the time assigned to the calendar entry, while the second section displays the current day in more detail. When switching application area allocations, the full detail of the day is displayed in the second (now large) section with records about calendar entries, and the first section (now small) displays only a one week overview.

The application operating with dynamic application space allocation according to the present invention may be a base software, a boot software or a native application. The division of the application space need not be three quarters to one quarter, any unequal distribution of the application space, i.e. 60:40, 70:30, 75:25 or 80:20, can be applied. For a display area partitioned into three areas, the partitioning can be, for example, 50:25:25, 50:30:20, or 60:15: 15. The selectable items in the application area section need not be presented in the form of a list; other arrays such as grids can also be used, particularly if multiple icon or thumbnail type items are listed.

The proportion of the allocation is according to another preferred embodiment flexibly variable depending on the amount of data presented in the respective parts, i.e. if the first part shows a list with only two entries, the proportion is for example 55/45, instead of 70/30 when the list has 30 entries. The ratio can also depend on the amount of information in the portion displaying the detailed information. If an e-mail to be displayed with detailed information in this section is short, the maximum size of the detailed section may be limited to 35% of the application area. However, if the e-mail to be displayed is long, 80% of the application area may be allocated to the detailed portion.

Although the present invention has been described in detail for purpose of illustration, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that variations can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (55)

1. A mobile communication terminal comprising:

a user interface including a display component and an input component;

a processor configured to control operation of the terminal, the terminal configured to receive input from a user through the input means and to run an application on the terminal;

the processor is also configured to show on the display means a partitioned application area having two or more application area sections when an application is running on the terminal;

the processor is further configured to at least temporarily define an initial one of the application area sections as a larger application area section shown within the partitioned application area and simultaneously at least temporarily define a complementary one of the application area sections as a smaller application area section shown within the partitioned application area;

and said processor is configured to at least temporarily redefine said initial one of said application area sections as the smaller application area section shown within the partitioned application area and simultaneously at least temporarily redefine said complementary one of said application area sections as the larger application area section shown within the partitioned application area in response to user input; and

the processor is configured to allocate within the partitioned application area a proportion of each area between the larger application area portion and the smaller application area portion.

2. A mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein a first one of said application area sections displays a plurality of selectable items with one of the items highlighted and a second one of said application area sections displays details of the highlighted item.

3. A mobile communication terminal according to claim 2, wherein said processor is configured to redefine said second one of said application area sections as the larger application area section when the user selects a selectable item in said first one of said application area sections.

4. A mobile communication terminal according to claim 3, wherein said processor is configured to subsequently redefine said first one of said application area sections as the larger application area section when the second one of said application area sections is the larger application area section and the user selects an item or object in the second one of said application area sections.

5. A mobile communication terminal according to claim 3 or 4, wherein at least a part of the information displayed in the second of said application area sections is in the form of selectable items when the second of said application area sections is the larger application area section.

6. A mobile communication terminal according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the amount of information relating to the selected item in the first one of said application area sections is increased when the second one of said application area sections becomes the larger application area section.

7. The mobile communication terminal according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the display section and the input section comprise a touch screen.

8. The mobile communication terminal of claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to simultaneously display one or more command buttons with the partitioned application area on the touch screen.

9. A mobile communication terminal according to claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to display one or more command buttons on the touch screen only if one of the one or more predetermined application areas is the larger application area portion, and wherein the area for displaying the command button is retrieved from the partitioned application area.

10. A mobile communication terminal according to claim 9, wherein the function and number of command buttons are specific to each of the application area sections.

11. A mobile communications terminal according to claim 7, wherein the application is a telephone book or address book and one of the application area sections displays a list of selectable telephone book or address book entries, one of which is highlighted, and the other of the application area sections displays details relating to the highlighted telephone book or address book entry.

12. A mobile communication terminal according to any of claims 7 to 10, wherein the application is a messaging application and one of the application area sections displays a list of highlighted received, sent, deleted or drafted messages and the other displays of the application area section relate to details of the highlighted message.

13. A method of operating a user interface of a mobile communication terminal having a display section and an input section, the method comprising the steps of:

running the application;

displaying on the display component a partitioned application area having two or more application area sections;

temporarily defining an initial one of the application area sections as a larger application area section shown in the partitioned application area; and at the same time at least temporarily defining a complementary one of said application area sections as the smaller application area section shown within the partitioned application area;

temporarily redefining said initial one of said application area sections as the smaller application area section shown within the partitioned application area and simultaneously at least temporarily redefining said complementary one of said application area sections as the larger application area section shown within the partitioned application area in response to user input; and

the ratio of the respective areas between the larger application area portion and the smaller application area portion is allocated within the partitioned application area.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of displaying a plurality of selectable items with one of the items highlighted in a first one of the application area sections and displaying details of the highlighted item in a second one of the application area sections.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of redefining said second one of said application area sections as the larger application area section when the user selects a selectable item in said first one of said application area sections.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of subsequently redefining said first one of said application area sections as the larger application area section when the second one of said application area sections is the larger application area section and the user selects an item or object in the second one of said application area sections.

17. A method according to claim 15 or 16, further comprising the step of displaying at least part of the information in the second of the application area sections in the form of selectable items when the second of the application area sections is the larger application area section.

18. A method according to claim 16 or 17, further comprising the step of increasing the amount of information relating to the selected item in the first one of said application area sections when the second one of said application area sections becomes the larger application area section.

19. The method of any of claims 13-18, wherein the display component and the input component comprise a touch screen.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of simultaneously displaying one or more command buttons with the partitioned application area on the touch screen.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of displaying one or more command buttons on the touch screen only if one of the one or more predetermined application areas is the larger application area portion, and retrieving the area for displaying the command buttons from the partitioned application area.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the function and number of command buttons are specific to each of the application area sections.

23. A computer readable medium containing instructions for controlling a mobile communication terminal having a display section and an input section to:

displaying on the display component a partitioned application area having two or more application area sections when an application is running;

temporarily defining an initial one of the application area sections as a larger application area section shown in the partitioned application area; and at the same time at least temporarily defining a complementary one of said application area sections as the smaller application area section shown within the partitioned application area;

temporarily redefining said initial one of said application area sections as the smaller application area section shown within the partitioned application area and simultaneously at least temporarily redefining said complementary one of said application area sections as the larger application area section shown within the partitioned application area in response to user input; and

the ratio of the respective areas between the larger application area portion and the smaller application area portion is allocated within the partitioned application area.

24. The computer readable medium according to claim 23, wherein the ratio is greater than 1: 1 and less than 1: 0, the ratio preferably being in the range between 3: 2 and 9: 1.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 24, wherein the scale is redefined in response to the type and amount of the information to be displayed in the respective application area section.

26. A method of allocating a display area of a user interface of a mobile communication terminal, comprising:

initializing an application stored in the terminal;

designating a portion of the user interface as a primary region;

designating another portion of the user interface as a secondary region;

in an initial state of the user interface, allocating a larger portion of the user interface display area to the primary area relative to the secondary area;

displaying a list of user selectable items in the primary area;

displaying at least a portion of the content of the highlighted one of the user selectable items in the secondary area;

in a second state of the user interface, expanding the size of the secondary area and correspondingly reducing the size of the primary area, a transition from the first state to the second state occurs when the highlighted one of the user selectable items is selected;

displaying the content of the selected one of the user selectable items in the expanded secondary area; and

at least a portion of the user selectable items are displayed in the reduced primary area.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

selecting the reduced main area;

re-assigning the reduced size of the main area to the initial state; and

the size of the expanded secondary region is again allocated to the initial state.

28. The method of claim 26, further comprising assigning an area of the user interface to a title, the area of the title being adjacent to one of the primary area or the secondary area.

29. The method of claim 26, further comprising displaying at least one user-selectable command key, the at least one command key associated with the application.

30. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

identifying an object selected from the list of user selectable items in the primary region;

determining a display area required for displaying the content of the selected object; and in the second state:

re-allocating the size of the secondary area to proportionally correspond to the display area required to display the content of the selected object; and

the size of the primary area is reduced in proportion to the redistribution of the size of the secondary area.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising reassigning the size of the primary region and the size of the secondary region to the initial state when the reduced primary region is selected.

32. The method of claim 26, further comprising simultaneously expanding the size of the secondary region and reducing the size of the primary region in a transition from the first state to the second state.

33. A method according to claim 26, wherein in the initial state the size of the primary area in the initial state is about two to three times larger than the size of the secondary area.

34. The method of claim 26, further comprising in the initial state, redistributing the ratio of the size of the primary area to the size of the secondary area to be greater than about 2: 1.

35. The method of claim 26, further comprising in the second state, allocating a size ratio of the secondary area to the primary area of greater than about 2: 1.

36. The method of claim 26, further comprising, in the initial state, displaying a list view in the primary area and previewing a view of a highlighted list item in the secondary area.

37. The method of claim 26, further comprising in the second state, displaying a detailed information view of the selected item in the secondary area and displaying a reduced list view in the primary area.

38. A method according to claim 26, wherein in the second state the size of the secondary area in the second state is about two to three times larger than the size of the primary area.

39. The method of claim 26, wherein in the second state, the secondary region expands and replaces the primary region until a desired region size of the secondary region is reached.

40. The method of claim 26, further comprising increasing the size of the primary area as the primary area in place of the secondary area when the user interface transitions from the second state to the first state.

41. The method of claim 26, wherein the change in the secondary region size and the change in the primary region size occur simultaneously during the transition from the first state to the second state.

42. A user interface for a mobile communication terminal, comprising:

a main display area; and

a secondary display area to which a smaller portion of the user interface is allocated relative to the primary display area in an initial state;

at least one user selectable item in the primary display area that can be highlighted and selected; and

wherein upon highlighting at least one user selectable item in the primary display area, at least a portion of the detailed content associated with the highlighted item is displayed in the secondary display area.

43. The user interface recited in claim 42, further comprising:

a second state of the user interface, the second state comprising:

an expanded secondary display area that, upon selection of one of the at least one user selectable items in the primary display area, displays the content of the selected item in the second state;

a reduced primary display area having a size reduced by an amount corresponding to the increase in size of the expanded secondary area, the reduced primary display area displaying only a portion of the at least one user selectable item from the initial state;

at least one command selection key in a portion of the user interface, the command selection key associated with an application, the application associated with the at least one user selectable item.

44. The user interface recited in claim 43 further comprising a title area adjacent to one of the primary and secondary display areas.

45. A display for a graphical user interface, comprising:

a first portion of dynamically variable size;

a dynamically variable sized second portion that responds in an inversely proportional manner to the change in size of the first portion;

a first state in which the first portion has a display area larger than that of the second portion; and

a second state in which the display area of the first portion is decreased in response to an increase in the display area of the second portion.

46. The display of claim 45, further comprising at least one command button associated with the first state.

47. The display of claim 45, further comprising at least one command button associated with the second state, the command button being invisible to the user until the user interface enters the second state.

48. A display according to claim 45, wherein the first state and the second state are mutually exclusive.

49. The display of claim 45, further comprising a title area located adjacent to one of the first portion and the second portion.

50. A display according to claim 45, wherein the first portion in the first state comprises a list view of user-selectable objects and the second portion in the first state comprises a preview screen for a highlighted object in the list view, the preview screen displaying at least a portion of the data associated with the highlighted object.

51. A display according to claim 45, in which the first part of the second state comprises a partial view of a list view of user selectable objects and the second part of the second state comprises a detailed view of data associated with the selected object.

52. A display as claimed in claim 45, in which the ratio of the area size of the first part to the second part in the first state is greater than 2: 1.

53. A display as claimed in claim 45, in which the ratio of the area size of the second portion to the first portion in the second state is greater than 2: 1.

54. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable code means embodied therein for causing a computer to initialize an application stored in a terminal, the computer readable code means in the computer program product comprising:

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to designate a portion of the user interface as a primary region;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to designate another portion of the user interface as a secondary region;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to assign a larger portion of the user interface to the primary area relative to the secondary area in an initial state of the user interface;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to display a list of user selectable items in the primary area;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to display at least a portion of the content of one of the user selectable items in the secondary region when the user selectable item is highlighted in the primary region;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer, when the user selectable item is selected, to transition to a second state, the second state comprising expanding the size of the secondary area and correspondingly reducing the size of the primary area;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to display the contents of the selected user selectable item in the expanded secondary area; and

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to display at least a portion of the user selectable item in the reduced primary area.

55. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable code means embodied therein for causing a computer to initialize an application stored in a terminal, the computer readable code means in the article of manufacture comprising:

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to designate a portion of the user interface as a primary region;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to designate another portion of the user interface as a secondary region;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to assign a larger portion of the user interface to the primary area relative to the secondary area in an initial state of the user interface;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to display a list of user selectable items in the primary area;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to display at least a portion of the content of one of the user selectable items in the secondary region when the user selectable item is highlighted in the primary region;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer, when one of the user selectable items is selected, to expand the size of the secondary area and correspondingly reduce the size of the primary area in the second state;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to display the contents of the selected user selectable item in the expanded secondary area; and

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to display at least a portion of the user selectable item in the reduced primary area.