Ulllt?d States Patent [19]
`Lenchik
`
`[54] METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
`POSITIONING SELECTABLE FUNCTION
`ICONS ON A DISPLAY
`
`-
`-
`-
`.
`[75] Inventor‘ “my Lenchlk’ Lake Zunch’ 111'
`
`.
`.
`[73] Asslgnee' Mmomla’lnc" schaumburg’m‘
`
`[21] Appl. No.: 235,756
`[22] Filed:
`Apr. 29, 1994
`[51] Int. c1.6 ..................................................... .. G09G 5/00
`[52] US. Cl. ......................... .. 345/156; 345/146; 345/173
`[58] Field of Search ................................... .. 345/157, 158,
`345/156, 131, 169, 173; 340/572, 825.54,
`825.65, 825.36, 825.44—825.51; 364/401,
`419; 348/734; 455/38.1-38.9; 341/23; 395/600
`.
`References cued
`US, PATENT DOCUMENTS
`I
`8/1987 Scribner ................................ .. 340/572
`
`4,688,026
`
`[56]
`
`||ll|llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll|l||l|||
`US005552806A
`[11] Patent Number:
`5,552,806
`[45] Date of Patent:
`Sep. 3, 1996
`
`-
`
`5,032,989
`5,038,401
`5,041,967
`
`7/1991 Tornetta ................................ .. 345/131
`8/1991 Inotsume
`................... .. 341/23
`8/1991 Ephrath ....................... .. 395/600
`
`5,086,394
`
`2/1992 Shapira . . . . . .
`
`. . . . . . . .. 364/419
`
`5,185,604
`5,204,670
`
`2/1993 Nepple 61131.
`4/1993 Stinton ..... ..
`
`5,250,941 10/1993 McGregor 61
`5,285,493
`2/1994 Wagai 81,31. . . . . .
`
`340/825.44
`340/82554
`
`340/82565
`. . . . . . .. 345/156
`
`5,287,266
`2/1994 M3160 611211. ..................... .. 364/401
`5,319,363
`6/1994 Welch 6131. ..................... .. 340/825.36
`Primary Examiner—Steven Saras
`A‘mmey’ Agent’ 0' F’rm—Dame1 C‘ Cnny
`[57]
`ABSTRACT
`
`Functions, represented by icons, likely to be used by a user
`may be depicted on a display (102) such that the user may
`invoke functions in a user friendly manner. Target function
`icons to be depicted on the display are determined from a
`pool of available functions based on an operating environ
`ment locale of a device (100) comprising the display (102).
`The target function icons are then presented on the display
`(102) such that the user can select or invoke a function
`
`
`
`4,746,919 4,837,568
`
`
`
`5/1988 Reitmeir ........................ .. 341/23 6/1989 Snaper ................... .. 340/82554
`
`y
`
`
`
`Elf); q
`
`y
`
`P '
`
`4,916,441
`4,959,721
`
`4/1990 Gombrich ............................. .. 345/169
`9/1990 Micic et a1. .......................... .. 345/158
`
`7 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets
`
`PROVIDE DISPLAY
`
`200
`
`PROVIDE SELECTABLE ICONS
`
`201
`
`DETERMINE OPERATIONAL
`ENVIRONMENT LOCALE
`
`DETERMINE AVAILABLE
`TASKS BASED ON LOCALE
`
`202
`
`203
`
`DETERMINE TASKS/FUNCTIONS OF THE 204
`AVAILABLE TASKS BASED ON HISTORY
`
`POSITION SUBSET OF TASK/FUNCTION
`ICONS ON THE DISPLAY
`
`205
`
`MAINTAIN HISTORICAL RECORD
`
`‘"206
`
`1
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep. 3, 1996
`
`Sheet 1 of 3
`
`5,552,806
`
`F f G’ . I
`
`Y 1R5
`
`REMOTE
`CONTROL UNIT
`
`I
`
`OPERATING
`ENvTR0NNENT
`LOCALE DETECTOR
`
`106
`
`“EMORY
`
`10:)I
`
`TASK
`SELECTOR
`
`10 7
`
`PROVIDE DISPLAY
`
`I-ZOO
`
`PROVIDE SELECTABLE ICONS
`
`l-201
`
`RETERNTNE OPERATIONAL
`ENvTRoNNENT LOCALE
`
`202
`
`DETERMINE AVAILABLE
`TASKS BASED ON LOCALE
`
`203
`
`TTETERNTNE TASKS/FUNCTIONS OF THE 204
`AVAILABLE TASKS BASED ON HISTORY
`
`POSITION SUBSET OF TASK/FUNCTION
`ICONS ON THE DISPLAY
`
`>205
`
`MAINTAIN HISTORICAL RECORD
`
`I-206
`
`2
`
`

`
`US. Patent
`
`Sep. 3, 1996
`
`Sheet 2 of 3
`
`5,552,806
`
`F l G . 3
`/302
`éQQ
`
`1/305
`
`L _ _ _ w ~ * m _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __.l
`
`r-'-'——'<~ — — ~ * ~ — — — — — — — ~ m — — — — — Q " ~ — — — — — — --|
`
`L “ _ m _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ._.._I
`
`F ~ _ * _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~ m Q _ _ _ _ _ _ * _ _ — — ? — _ _ _ _ __|
`
`L ~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _....._.I______.___.______.J
`
`I
`
`T0 00
`
`LIST 1:
`
`I
`
`1 [CALL "ml
`
`[PAGE 808]
`
`MEMO FROM
`
`MARY ]
`
`FINANCIAL
`
`[CALCULATOR
`\
`404
`
`[
`\
`102
`
`502
`/
`I m / --------------- "1
`: @ES RADIO
`[
`TV
`1
`[ SYSTEM 1
`[
`HELP J i
`PERSONAL
`PERSONAL
`
`FIG. 5
`i592
`
`L u m _ ~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ * _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _..J
`
`L _ W _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __J
`
`3
`
`

`
`US. Patent
`
`Sep. 3, 1996
`
`Sheet 3 0f 3
`
`5,552,806
`
`FIIIL
`
`604
`
`700
`
`.lllllJ
`qllllllJ
`
`4
`
`706/
`
`L
`
`102
`
`\704
`
`4
`
`

`
`5,552,806
`
`1
`METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
`POSITIONING SELECTABLE FUNCTION
`ICONS ON A DISPLAY
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`This invention relates generally to user interfaces and, in
`particular, to positioning selectable function icons on a
`display.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`2
`FIG. 2 illustrates a logic diagram in accordance with the
`present invention.
`FIG. 3 illustrates an arrangement of task and/or function
`icons on a display in accordance with the present invention.
`FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative arrangement of task and/or
`function icons on the display in accordance with the present
`invention.
`FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative arrangement of task and/or
`function icons on the display in accordance with the present
`invention.
`FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative arrangement of task and/or
`function icons on the display in accordance with the present
`invention.
`FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative arrangement of task and/or
`function icons on the display in accordance with the present
`invention.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENT
`
`Generally, the following description provides an appara
`tus and a method of providing a selection of task and/or
`function icons on a display based on an operating environ
`ment locale and historical records of previously selected
`functions and tasks within the operating environment locale.
`This is accomplished by providing a device, containing a
`display, that is able to determine its locale via a received
`transmitted signal designating the locale. For example, a ?rst
`transmitter sending one digital code may be used to indicate
`a home locale, while a second transmitter sending another
`code may indicate a work locale. A third possibility, i.e., no
`transmitted code, may indicate a mobile locale. Within each
`locale, certain tasks are more probable than others, and
`consequently the representations of these more probable
`tasks (icons) are selected for presentation on the display.
`Positioning of the icons on the display is also determined by
`the locale. For instance, a probable task while at work might
`be to call an associate’s telephone number, whereas a
`probable task while at home might be to turn on a television
`set. Each probable task or function might appear in a
`preferred part of the display based on the locale. With such
`a device and method, selectable function and/or task icons,
`based on both the present operating environment locale and
`previously selected function and task icons, can be posi
`tioned on the display providing a more user friendly inter
`face to a user.
`The present invention can be more fully described with
`reference to FIGS. 1-7. FIG. 1 illustrates a device (100) in
`accordance with the present invention that includes a func
`tion processor (101), such as, a processor from a Motorola
`68000 family, a display (102), such as, a color active matrix
`liquid crystal display, memory (103), such as, random access
`memory (RAM), a two-way communication unit (104), such
`as, a cellular telephone transceiver, a remote control unit
`(105), such as, an infrared transmitter used for sending codes
`to audio/visual electronic equipment, an operating environ
`ment locale detector (106), such as, a radio receiver and
`decoder, and a task selector (107), such as, a touch screen or
`soft key panel. The above noted components are each
`individually well known and understood in the art, and
`hence will not be described here in more detail, except
`where appropriate to an understanding of the invention.
`FIG. 2 illustrates a logic diagram. At step 200, a display
`(such as the display (102) noted above) is provided to
`display selectable task and/or function icons to the user. A
`number of selectable function icons each corresponding to a
`
`15
`
`20
`
`30
`
`35
`
`Currently, handheld devices exist that control various
`electronic devices. For example, there are remote control
`units to control a television set (TV), a video cassette
`recorder (VCR), or a compact disc (CD) player, to name just
`a few. There are individual remote control units to control
`these devices individually and there are universal remote
`control units that allow several devices such as the TV, VCR,
`and CD player to all be controlled by one remote control
`unit.
`As technology advances, electronic devices are decreas~
`ing in size, which allows several devices to ?t into one
`portable device. For example, a portable device may contain
`both a TV set and a VCR, or a portable device may contain
`25
`a dual audio cassette tape player/recorder, a radio, and a CD
`player. These devices typically have several keys or buttons
`each having a single dedicated function for one operating
`part of the device. For instance, a button that controls the
`playing of a CD in the CD player portion of the device would
`not also control the playing of an audio cassette tape in one
`or both of the dual audio cassette tape player/recorder.
`Currently, many features of today’s portable devices are
`di?icult to access because growing complexity results in
`increased number of key strokes being required to execute
`any given function. These key strokes often have no obvious
`relationship to the intended function. At the same time, as
`physical dimensions of portable devices decreases, the num
`her of control keys used to operate them also decreases. For
`example, to display an individual call timer within a typical
`prior art portable telephone requires the following three key
`entries in sequence: “RCL”, “#”, and “#”. To display a
`resettable timer within the same portable telephone requires
`four key entries in sequence, namely: “RCL”, “#”, “#”, and
`“#". Since these two functions and their respective key
`entries are very similar, it would be very easy for the user to
`confuse the two functions.
`Typically each device requires a separate user interface
`which is often cryptic and user unfriendly. As technology
`advances, rendering devices more affordable, users begin to
`own more and more of these small user-unfriendly devices.
`Thus, integrated devices are created to reduce clutter and
`improve the user interface. Nevertheless, as the number of
`integrated tasks within a single device grows due to
`advances in technology and manufacturing, it will become
`increasingly di?icult for a user to execute a given function
`due to an increase in the number of key strokes required.
`Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus and a
`method of providing a selection of tasks and/or functions on
`a display that integrate a large number of tasks within a
`single portable device and provides easy navigation within
`the tasks.
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`65
`
`FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a communications
`device in accordance with the present invention.
`
`5
`
`

`
`3
`function is provided (201) in the memory (103) as available
`icons to be presented on the display. User control of the
`device (100) is provided through the task selector (107),
`such as, a touch screen with underlying icons. Icons are
`either representations of tasks, such as “TV remote control”,
`or functions, such as “channel up” or “mute”. It is likely that
`some tasks will contain other tasks or functions, for
`example, a “control” task may contain a “TV remote con
`trol” task and a “house lights control” task. In addition, some
`tasks/functions may contain arguments, for example, a
`“document viewer” task may contain a function called “open
`document”. A “document name” argument may be supplied
`to the “open document” function via a scrolling list of
`available documents. An icon itself may be of various forms
`known in the industry, such as, graphic only, text and
`graphic, text only, animated graphic, and so forth. An icon
`may be automatically generated, for example, an icon of the
`particular document may be a reduced image of the graphic
`within the document (this is generally called a picon). In
`either case, an icon is designed as a short hand or a visually
`intuitive notation to represent a speci?c action that a user can
`select to execute. To provide an effective user interface, each
`task and function has a corresponding icon or set of corre
`sponding icons for display on the screen.
`The next step (202) determines an operating environment
`locale of the device. The operating environment locale may
`be home, office, car, or any other environment where a
`customized user interface is desirable. In order to enable the
`device to recognize its present locale, various techniques
`could be used. For example, a device may require an
`accompanying digital radio beacon to be placed in the
`vicinity of the particular locale. A digital signature of the
`device could be selectable by the user at the time of
`deployment. When the device comes within proximity of the
`beacon, the operating environment locale detector (106)
`determines the locale based on the beacon. In the absence of
`the beacon, the operating locale detector determines the
`locale to be a mobile locale. A system of this type has been
`previously deployed by Motorola for bus stop identi?cations
`(Metrocom). Alternatively, a surface acoustic wave (SAW)
`resonator may be used to indicate a particular locale. In this
`manner, the device may emit a probing signal which, when
`re?ected from the SAW resonator, produces a speci?c sig
`nature distinguishing one locale from another. The above
`represents examples of locale detectors well known in the
`industry, thus no further discussion will be presented.
`In step (203) selectable tasks/functions of the device (100)
`are determined based on the present locale. Tasks/functions
`which are not appropriate for the present locale are ineligible
`for selection. For example, at home the device can be used
`to control a television set and house lights, whereas, at work
`this same control may be meaningless if neither a TV set nor
`house lights controller is present at the work locale. There
`may be tasks/functions which operate at multiple locales,
`i.e., home, work, and in a car, such as, a telephone task.
`These tasks may share the user interface even if underlying
`communications are accomplished via different means. For
`instance, at home and at work a cordless telephone mode
`may be invoked. In the car, the cordless telephone mode may
`not be invoked whereas a cellular telephone mode may be
`invoked. If there are any differences in the user interface due
`to these methods, such as, caller ID, the icon representing
`caller ID will be displayed if it is an allowed function or
`hidden if it is not an allowed function.
`Of the tasks/functions that are eligible for selection based
`on the locale, the device, via the task selector, determines
`those tasks/functions that will likely be needed by the user
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`5,552,806
`
`10
`
`15
`
`25
`
`4
`based on a historical record (204). To support this, whenever
`a speci?c task or function is selected and executed by the
`user, the device maintains a historical record in the memory
`(206). The record may contain such items as:
`a ) task/function:
`b) locale:
`c) depth of function within hierarchical structure of tasks/
`functions;
`.
`(1) previously executed step;
`e) time of day:
`f) date; and
`g) day of the week.
`These key sequences are analyzed for patterns and a metric
`is de?ned to identify which functions or tasks will have the
`most likely effect of reducing key strokes by the user on his
`next action. Based on this metric, the icons are prioritized
`and the top few on the list are displayed based on the
`available area on the display, number of soft keys, and the
`like (205). The most simple strategy may be a ?rst-in-?rst
`out-strategy, which allows the user to return to the most
`recently executed task, regardless of how far down it is in the
`task hierarchy. However, more elaborate strategies are pos
`sible, such as, automatically placing an icon on the display
`to call a speci?c person, if it happens to be the one person
`that the user calls periodically from work or from his car
`during the course of the day.
`This context based task selector can be presented to the
`user concurrently with a hierarchical selector, which allows
`viewing of all of the tasks in a hierarchical manner regard
`less of whether these tasks are likely to be needed or not.
`This provision is important in some applications because an
`unlikely key sequence may be needed by the user since it is
`impossible to guess with one hundred percent accuracy what
`the next action will be by the user. One example, may be that
`the user may want to make a cellular not a cordless tele
`phone call from his o?ice.
`Positioning of the icons on the display may be in a pattern
`corresponding to the software de?nable keys along the
`bottom, top, or sides of the display. They may also be
`positioned in an irregular pattern as long as a positive
`association exists between a selecting key and the icon.
`Irregularly positioned icons may be selected using a touch/
`pen input, through scrolling, or cursor selection.
`FIGS. 3-7 depict various arrangements of task and/or
`function icons on the display (102) in accordance with the
`present invention. FIG. 3 depicts how icons might be
`positioned on the display (102) when the device (100) is in
`the operating environment locale of the user’s home. In a
`preferred embodiment, the top row (302) of icons on the
`display (102) represent the highest level of tasks available to
`the user in the home operating environment locale, i.e.,
`hierarchical (such as, for example, a “control” icon (303)),
`while the bottom row (304) of icons represent tasks and
`functions based on a historical record of user selectable
`functions that the user typically uses while at home, i.e.,
`contextual.
`If the device (100) is moved from home to work, the
`display (102) would change (400) as shown in FIG. 4. This
`may affect both hierarchical (402) and contextual (404) rows
`of selectable icons. If control applications (e.g., control of a
`television or lights) do not exist at work, the control icon
`(303) may dim (403) or be completely deleted as a selectable
`icon at the work locale. The contextual row may also
`change. In this example, the contextual row (304) at home
`may contain TV, Lights, VCR, Stereo, and Reminder icons
`because these are tasks/functions that the user typically uses
`
`6
`
`

`
`5,552,806
`
`20
`
`25
`
`5
`at home. At work the contextual row (404) may change to
`display icons of Call Jim, Page Bob, view Memo from Mary,
`display Financial calculator, and view a To Do list (these
`being illustrative examples of tasks and functions that the
`user might ordinarily exercise in his or her work environ
`ment).
`As an example of usage, selecting Relax (405) from the
`hierarchical row of selectable icons (402) changes the dis
`play to that shown in FIG. 5. Selecting personal TV (502)
`then changes the display to that shown in FIG. 6. In the
`background an actual television image (602) is received and
`displayed. In the foreground, the selectable row of icons
`(604) shows functions associated with controlling the per
`sonal TV, such as, channel up and channel down. At the
`same time, the contextual row (606) continues to display 15
`tasks that the user may want to perform while watching TV.
`However, as shown in FIG. 7, if the user watches TV often
`while at the work locale, the personal TV icon (706) will
`displace one of the other less accessed tasks such as,
`Financial Calculator (608) in the contextual selector (704).
`The above teachings provide a method and an apparatus
`of providing a selection of task and/or function icons on a
`display based on an operating environment locale and his
`torical records of previously selected functions and tasks in
`the operating environment locale. By providing such a
`method and apparatus, it is possible to integrate a large
`number of necessary tasks within a single portable device
`and easily navigate within those tasks.
`By utilizing the present invention, selectable function
`and/or task icons associated with the operating environment
`locale and previously selected function and task icons can be
`provided on the display to a user to produce a more user
`friendly interface.
`I claim:
`1. In a communications device having a display, a method
`for operating the communications device, the method com
`prising the steps of:
`determining, by the communications device, a geographic
`operating locale of the communications device;
`when the communications device is in a ?rst geographic
`operating locale, automatically positioning at least a
`?rst icon on the display, the at least a ?rst icon
`corresponding to at least one selectable function of the
`communications device that can be performed in the
`?rst geographic operating locale;
`when the communications device is in a second geo~
`graphic operating locale, automatically positioning at
`least a second icon on the display, the at least a second
`icon corresponding to at least one selectable function of
`the communications device that can be performed in
`the second geographic operating locale, wherein the
`second geographic operating local is distinct from the
`?rst geographic operating locale and the at least one
`selectable function corresponding to the at least a ?rst
`icon is distinct from the least one selectable function
`corresponding to the at least a second icon;
`upon selection of an icon by a user of the communications
`device, performing a selectable function corresponding
`to the selected icon; and
`maintaining a historical record of selectable functions that
`have been selected by a user at each geographic oper
`ating locale.
`2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of automati
`cally positioning the at least a ?rst icon on the display
`includes the step of automatically positioning a ?rst plurality
`of icons on the display, which ?rst plurality of icons each
`
`6
`correspond to a selectable function of the communications
`device that can be performed in the ?rst geographic oper
`ating locale and wherein the step of automatically position
`ing the at least a second icon on the display includes the step
`of automatically positioning a second plurality of icons on
`the display which second plurality of icons each correspond
`to a selectable function of the communications device that
`can be performed in the second geographic operating locale.
`3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of automati
`cally positioning the at least a ?rst icon on the display
`includes the step of automatically positioning the at least a
`?rst icon on the display as a function of the historical record
`of selectable functions selected at the ?rst geographic oper
`ating locale.
`4. A device, comprising:
`a display;
`an operating environment locale detector that determines
`a geographic operating locale of the device;
`a memory containing a plurality of function selection
`icons that correspond to a plurality of functions capable
`of being performed by the device and a stored historical
`record of functions that have been selected at a ?rst
`geographic operating locale and a second geographic
`operating locale by a user of the device: and
`a function processor, operably coupled to the display, the
`memory, and the operating environment locale detec
`tor, that selects at least a ?rst function selection icon of
`the plurality of function selection icons for presentation
`on the display as a function of the stored historical
`record of functions selected at the ?rst geographic
`operating locale when the device is within the ?rst
`geographic operating locale, that selects at least a
`second function selection icon of the plurality of func
`tion selection icons for presentation on the display
`when the device is within a second geographic oper
`ating locale, the second geographic operating locale
`being distinct from the ?rst geographic operating locale
`and at least one function corresponding to the at least
`a ?rst function selection icon being distinct from at
`least one function corresponding to the at least a second
`function selection icon, and that instructs the device to
`perform a particular function corresponding to a func
`tion selection icon selected by a user of the device.
`5. In a communications device having a display, a method
`for operating the communications device, the method com
`prising the steps of:
`determining, by the communications device, a geographic
`operating locale of the communications device:
`determining a user selectable function presently selected
`by a user of the communications device to produce a
`presently selected function, which user selectable func
`tion has a corresponding selectable function icon;
`maintaining a historical record of user selectable func
`tions that have been selected by a user:
`when the communications device is in a ?rst geographic
`operating locale, automatically positioning a ?rst plu
`rality of selectable function icons on the display as a
`function of the historical record and the presently
`selected function, the ?rst plurality of selectable func
`tion icons corresponding to a ?rst plurality of user
`selectable functions of the communications device that
`can be performed in the ?rst geographic operating
`locale:
`when the communications device is in a second geo
`graphic operating locale, automatically positioning a
`second plurality of selectable function icons on the
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`7
`
`

`
`5,552,806
`
`15
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`45
`
`7
`display as a function of the historical record, the second
`plurality of selectable function icons corresponding to
`a second plurality of user selectable functions of the
`communications device that can be performed in the
`second geographic operating locale, wherein the sec
`ond geographic operating local is distinct from the ?rst
`geographic operating locale and wherein the ?rst plu
`rality of user selectable functions are distinct from the
`second plurality of user selectable functions; and
`upon selection of a selectable function icon by a user of
`the communications device, performing a user select
`able function corresponding to the selected selectable
`function icon.
`6. A device, comprising:
`a display;
`an operating environment locale detector that determines
`a geographic operating locale of the device:
`a user operable task selector that allows a user of the
`device to select a present function of the device to
`produce a presently selected function;
`a memory containing a stored historical record of select
`able functions that have been selected by a user of the
`device and
`a plurality of function selection icons that correspond to
`a plurality of functions capable of being performed by
`the device; and
`a function processor, operably coupled to the display, the
`memory, the operating environment locale detector,
`and the user operable task selector, that selects at least
`a ?rst function selection icon of the plurality of ?1nc~
`tion selection icons for presentation on the display as a
`function of the stored historical record and the pres
`ently selected function when the device is within a ?rst
`geographic operating locale, that selects at least a
`second function selection icon of the plurality of func
`tion selection icons for presentation on the display as a
`function of the stored historical record and the pres
`ently selected function when the device is within a
`second geographic operating locale, the second geo
`graphic operating locale being distinct from the ?rst
`geographic operating locale and a function correspond
`ing to the at least a ?rst function selection icon being
`distinct from a function corresponding to the at least a
`second function selection icon, and that instructs the
`device to perform a particular function corresponding
`to a function selection icon selected by the user of the
`device.
`7. A handheld communications device, comprising:
`a graphic display;
`
`a two-way wireless communication unit;
`a one-way wireless remote control unit;
`a user operable task selector that allows a user of the
`handheld communications device to select a present
`operation of the two—way wireless communication unit
`or the one-way wireless remote control unit to produce
`a presently selected operation;
`a memory containing:
`a stored historical record of:
`selectable tasks: and
`selectable functions that correspond to the selectable
`tasks; which selectable functions and selectable tasks
`have been selected by a user of the handheld com
`munications device; and
`a plurality of function selection icons that correspond to
`a plurality of functions capable of being performed
`by the handheld communications device
`a function processor, operably coupled to the graphic
`display, the memory, the operating environment locale
`detector, that two-way wireless communication unit,
`the one-way remote control unit, and the user operable
`task selector, that selects at least a ?rst function selec
`tion icon of the plurality of function selection icons for
`presentation on the graphic display as a function of the
`stored historical record and the presently selected
`operation when the one-way remote control unit is
`performing the presently selected operation and the
`handheld communications device is within a ?rst geo—
`graphic operating locale primarily used for operating
`the one-way remote control unit, that selects at least a
`second function selection icon of the plurality of func
`tion selection icons for presentation on the display as a
`function of the stored historical record and the pres
`ently selected operation when the two-way wireless
`communication unit is performing the presently
`selected operation and the handheld communications
`the device is within a second geographic operating
`locale that is primarily used for operating the two-way
`communication unit, the second geographic operating
`locale being distinct from the ?rst geographic operating
`locale and a function corresponding to the at least a ?rst
`function selection icon being distinct from a function
`corresponding to the at least a second function selection
`icon, and that instructs the handheld communications
`device to perform a particular operation corresponding
`to a function selection icon selected by the user of the
`handheld communications device.
`
`8