A portable computer arranged to rest comfortably in the hand has a small display screen. Accelerometers capable of detecting movement of the pen with respect to gravity provide input to a microcontroller which selects a response from a number of viewing modes. The pen may be held in either hand and the output message to the screen will be oriented according to the location of the pen. Full personal digital assistance functionality may be incorporated in a relatively small plastics casing and functions, such as calendar, contracts the like may be incorporated.
Currently, a user may need to carry or otherwise keep track of both a mouse and electronic pen for a computer, such as a portable computing device. Carrying or otherwise keeping track of both devices can be tedious. Accordingly, systems and methods for providing a dual mode mouse pen are enabled, whereby the mouse pen may be used as both a pen, or alternatively, as a mouse. In one embodiment, the pen may include a switch to select one of two modes: pen or mouse.
A user gestures with a wireless mobile phone device to control some aspect of its operation, or the operation of a remote system with which the device communicates. (The gestures may be sensed by tracking movement of a feature across a field of view of a mobile phone device camera.) The resultant operation may additionally depend on other data obtained by the wireless device, e.g., obtained from an electronic or physical object, or sensed from the environment. A variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.
