CN102713803B - virtual keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

A method includes displaying on a display screen a virtual keyboard including a plurality of input buttons, each input button including at least two faces. The method also includes displaying an indication on the mode button indicating which of at least two faces of the plurality of input buttons is being displayed on the virtual keyboard. Corresponding apparatus, handheld devices and computer program products are also provided. By using buttons that can be flipped, flicked or rotated, the space of the virtual keyboard can be greatly reduced.

Description

virtual keyboard

technical field

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods and apparatus for operating handheld devices, and in particular to virtual keyboards for handheld devices. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and apparatus for displaying and operating a virtual keyboard on an electronic handheld device and computer program products for displaying and operating a virtual keyboard on an electronic handheld device.

Background technique

Today, virtual keyboards have been widely used as human-machine interfaces for many electronic devices, including, for example, personal computers (PCs), personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, electronic dictionaries, electronic readers, and the like. However, due to size constraints on the display screen of the handheld device, the number of buttons that can be displayed on the virtual keyboard is quite limited. In order to supply characters/symbols required to input information on a limited area of the virtual keyboard, the characters/symbols are generally divided into a plurality of groups, and the characters/symbols in each group are mapped to a plurality of buttons provided on the virtual keyboard. As a result, virtual keyboards typically have multiple keymaps or input modes; each keymap or input mode corresponds to a different set of characters/symbols. Accordingly, the same button on the virtual keyboard can be used to input different characters/symbols in different input modes. Therefore, it is necessary to indicate to the user the current mode of the virtual keyboard.

Generally, there are three methods used to indicate to the user the current input mode of the virtual keyboard. The first method is to display multiple activation buttons on the virtual keyboard; each activation button is used to activate a different one of the multiple input modes of the virtual keyboard; among multiple activation buttons, only the one that has been used to activate the current input mode The activate button is highlighted. However, in the first method, since one activation button is assigned to each input mode, too much display area is required to display a plurality of activation buttons, which leaves too little area for displaying character/symbol buttons. In addition, the size of the buttons has to be relatively small so that more characters/symbols can be displayed on the virtual keyboard, but the small-sized keys are inconvenient for the user to press or lightly touch.

The second method is to display only public activation buttons; once the user has pressed an activation button, a popup list of multiple activation buttons will be displayed, and the user can continue pressing one of the displayed activation buttons in order to activate the corresponding input mode. However, in the second method, the user will have to press the common activation button twice in order to activate the input modes, and the user will not know how many input modes are available until he presses the common activation button at least once.

A third method uses only a single activation button and allows the user to press the single activation button multiple times to cycle through different input modes, which is usually unidirectional. However, in the third method, until the user presses a single activation button, he or she does not know which input mode will appear, nor does the user know how many input modes are available. Furthermore, if switching to a new input mode is not the desired input mode, the user will have to press the single activation button one or more times before reaching the desired input mode. In the worst case, if the user accidentally misses the desired input mode, he or she will have to press the single activation button multiple times while looking more cautiously at the virtual keyboard so that he or she will not miss the desired input mode again. input mode.

Contents of the invention

Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a way of arranging buttons on a virtual keyboard so that a user of the virtual keyboard can be easily informed how many modes of the virtual keyboard are available, what the current mode of the virtual keyboard is, and what other modes are available for the virtual keyboard. mode, where in the sequence of all available modes of the virtual keyboard is the current mode of the virtual keyboard.

One embodiment of the invention provides a method. The method includes displaying on a display screen a virtual keyboard including a plurality of input buttons, each input button including at least two faces. The method also includes displaying an indication on the mode button indicating which of the at least two sides of the plurality of input buttons is being displayed in the virtual keyboard.

In one embodiment, the method may further include: rotating at least one of the plurality of input buttons to a different face for display in response to sensing a flipping motion for the virtual keyboard; and updating the indication on the mode button to indicate a different face. face is being displayed. The flipping action may be performed in a direction substantially parallel to the long sides of the virtual keyboard. Alternatively, the flipping action may be performed in a direction substantially parallel to the short sides of the virtual keyboard. The method may further include generating an audible signal accompanying rotation of the at least one input button.

In another embodiment, the method further includes: in response to sensing a tap action on the mode button, rotating at least one of the plurality of input buttons to a different face for display; and updating the indication on the mode button to indicate Different faces are being displayed. The method may further include generating an audible signal accompanying rotation of the at least one input button.

In another embodiment, the at least two faces of the at least one input button represent at least two corresponding different symbols or characters, and the method further includes responding to sensing the display face for the at least two faces of the at least one input button The touch action outputs the corresponding symbol or character represented by the displayed surface to the processor.

In one embodiment, the virtual keyboard includes four by ten buttons. In another embodiment, each input button includes at least three faces. In additional embodiments, each input button includes at least four faces.

In one embodiment, displaying the indication includes: displaying on the mode button at least two points corresponding to at least two faces of the plurality of input buttons; and highlighting the points corresponding to the plurality of input buttons being displayed in the virtual keyboard A point corresponding to at least one of the two faces of .

In another embodiment, displaying the indication includes displaying a score on the mode button. The denominator of the fraction is equal to the total number of the at least two sides of the plurality of input buttons, and the numerator of the fraction indicates which of the at least two sides of the plurality of input buttons is being displayed in the virtual keyboard.

Another embodiment of the invention provides an apparatus. The device comprises means for displaying on a display screen a virtual keyboard comprising a plurality of input buttons, each input button comprising at least two faces. The device also includes means for displaying on the mode button an indication of which of the at least two sides of the plurality of input buttons is being displayed in the virtual keyboard.

In one embodiment, the device further comprises: means for rotating at least one of the plurality of input buttons to a different face for display in response to sensing a flipping motion for the virtual keyboard; Indicates to indicate which device the different facets are displaying. The flipping action may be performed in a direction substantially parallel to the long sides of the virtual keyboard. Alternatively, the flipping action may be performed in a direction substantially parallel to the short sides of the virtual keyboard. The device may further comprise means for generating an audible signal accompanying rotation of the at least one input button.

In another embodiment, the device further comprises: means for rotating at least one of the plurality of input buttons to a different face for display in response to sensing a tap on the mode button; and for updating the mode The indication on the button to indicate which device the different facets are being displayed. The device may further comprise means for generating an audible signal accompanying rotation of the at least one input button.

In another embodiment, at least two faces of at least one input button represent at least two corresponding different symbols or characters, and the device further includes a display face for responding to sensing the at least two faces of the at least one input button A device that outputs the corresponding symbol or character represented by the displayed surface to the processor through a touch action.

In one embodiment, the virtual keyboard includes four by ten buttons. In another embodiment, each input button includes at least three faces. In additional embodiments, each input button includes at least four faces.

In one embodiment, the means for displaying the indication comprises: means for displaying on the mode button at least two points corresponding to at least two faces of the plurality of input buttons; A means for displaying one of the points on one of the at least two surfaces of the plurality of input buttons.

In another embodiment, the means for displaying the indication includes means for displaying the score on the mode button. The denominator of the fraction is equal to the total number of the at least two sides of the plurality of input buttons, and the numerator of the fraction indicates which of the at least two sides of the plurality of input buttons is being displayed in the virtual keyboard.

Additional embodiments of the present invention provide a handheld device. The handheld device comprises the apparatus provided by embodiments of the present invention and described above.

A further embodiment of the invention provides an apparatus. The device includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The memory and computer program code are configured to cause at least one processor to at least display on a display screen a virtual keyboard comprising a plurality of input buttons, each input button comprising at least two faces. The memory and computer program code are also configured to display, using the at least one processor, an indication on the mode button which of the at least two sides of the plurality of input buttons is being displayed in the virtual keyboard.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a computer program product comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored thereon. The computer readable program code portions include program code instructions for displaying on a display screen a virtual keyboard including a plurality of input buttons, each input button including at least two faces. The computer readable program code portions include program code instructions for displaying on the mode button an indication indicating which of at least two sides of the plurality of input buttons is being displayed in the virtual keyboard.

According to some embodiments of the invention, only one mode button is required and an indication of how many modes are available and what the current mode is is also displayed on the mode button. Therefore, the space of the display screen of the handheld device is greatly reduced. Since it is not necessary to press the mode button, the user is able to know how many modes (eg, input modes) are available for the virtual keyboard, eg, just by glancing at the mode button. In addition, when switching to another mode of the virtual keyboard, the rotation of the input button of the virtual keyboard, for example, accompanied by a sound effect generated by an audible signal, provides a vivid and intuitive feeling to the user. Further, the user can conveniently perceive where the current mode of the virtual keyboard is in the sequence of all available modes of the virtual keyboard with respect to other available modes.

Other features and advantages of embodiments of the invention will be understood from the following description of the detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of embodiments of the invention.

Description of drawings

Embodiments of the invention are presented by way of example and their advantages will be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a virtual keyboard and its operation in one embodiment of the present invention;

2, 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams showing a virtual keyboard and its operation in other embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a flowchart of a method of using a virtual keyboard in one embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of a device in another embodiment of the invention equipped with or implementing a virtual keyboard or method as illustrated in Figs. 1-5.

Detailed ways

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below.

In one embodiment of the invention, at least one input button included in the virtual keyboard can be flipped, flicked, flipped, rotated, tapped, touched, etc. to present different faces to the user of the virtual keyboard. For example, a user may perform a flip, flick, or wipe action against the virtual keyboard to initiate flipping or rotation of an input button. Here, a flipping, flicking or swiping action means a rapid swiping, eg on a touch-sensitive display, which involves lifting the finger at the end of the stroke at a speed proportional to the speed of the motion. A user may also perform a tap action on an input button included in the virtual keyboard or elsewhere to initiate flipping or rotation of the input button. In some implementations, an indication of the face of the input button is displayed on the mode button.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a virtual keyboard and its operation in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows an input window 101 in which the Chinese phrase "时时吗" has been input, and a virtual keyboard 102 comprising a plurality of input buttons (eg, four by ten buttons). Each input button has been assigned a corresponding symbol (e.g., #, $, etc.), a corresponding number (e.g., 1, 2, 4, etc.), or a corresponding character (not shown, such as "a", "d") etc.), depending on the different input modes. When switching from one input mode to another, the input buttons will be assigned different corresponding symbols, numbers, or characters. In one embodiment, such input mode switching may be accomplished by pressing, touching or tapping a mode button, which is also displayed. In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the mode button 103 is shown in the first row, third column (from left to right) of the virtual keyboard, as indicated by a circle. As shown in FIG. 1 , two dots, a large dot and a small dot, are displayed on the mode button 103 . Each dot indicates an input mode. Therefore, the virtual keyboard as shown in FIG. 1 includes two input modes for the input state represented by "12". The point indicating the current input mode is highlighted, for example, enlarged as shown in FIG. 1 . Accordingly, each input button on the virtual keyboard includes at least two faces. Each face corresponds to an input pattern. When an input mode is selected by the user by tapping, pressing, or touching the mode button 103, or by flipping, flicking, or swiping the virtual keyboard 102 (which is part of the display area of the touch-sensitive display), the corresponding point will be highlighted (eg, by zooming in, flashing, changing color, etc.) and one of the at least two faces of the button will be displayed in the virtual keyboard 102 accordingly. The virtual keyboard 102 then enters the corresponding input mode. When the user taps, touches or presses one of the input buttons, the corresponding information (for example, the symbol, number or character displayed on the face of the tapped, touched or pressed input button, which is being presented to the user) will be displayed by the virtual keyboard 102 Output to the processor or application currently interacting with the virtual keyboard 102 . In the example of FIG. 1 , the corresponding information will be output by the virtual keyboard 102 to the word processor and can be displayed on the input window 101 .

The middle part 104 of FIG. 1 specifically shows the two states of the mode button 103 and at least two faces of the input button 105 during the transition of switching input modes. One face of the enter button 105 displays and therefore corresponds to the punctuation mark "," and the other face of the enter button 105 displays and thus corresponds to the symbol "#". In one embodiment, at least one of the plurality of input buttons is rotated to a different face for display in response to a user's flipping action on the virtual keyboard 102 , or a tapping action on the mode button 103 . For example, FIG. 1 illustrates that the input button 105 is being rotated from one side of "#" to the other side of ","; before, during or after the rotation of the input button 105, the point displayed on the mode button 103 is updated, For example from highlighting (eg zooming in as shown in Figure 1 ) the first point to highlighting the second point. The corresponding representations of the mode button 103 are shown from left to right in FIG. 1 .

The lower part of FIG. 1 shows the layout of the virtual keyboard 102 after the aforementioned switching of input modes. As shown in Figure 1, after the rotation of a plurality of input buttons, the virtual keyboard enters the next input mode and each input button is assigned a new symbol, number or character (correspondingly, the other side of the input button is displayed to the user ). Switched input buttons are shown from, for example, the fourth column to the ninth column in the virtual keyboard 102 .

It should be noted that the above description is for the purpose of illustration only, and the invention is not limited to the examples shown. Those skilled in the art may make any suitable modifications or changes to the virtual keyboard shown in FIG. 1 without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the input button shown in FIG. 1 includes at least two faces. In one embodiment, each input button may include three faces, forming a triangular prism, four faces, forming a cube, or even more faces, forming other three-dimensional shapes. Furthermore, although FIG. 1 uses dots to indicate input modes, any other symbols may be used as long as they are sized to be displayed on the mode button 103 . In another embodiment, points are replaced by fractions. The denominator of the fraction is equal to the total number of at least two sides of the plurality of input buttons, and the numerator of the fraction indicates which of the at least two sides of the plurality of input buttons is being displayed in the virtual keyboard 102 . Assume that each input button 104 shown in FIG. 1 has four sides. The diagrams of dots displayed on the mode button 103 may be replaced with "1/4", "2/4", "3/4" and "4/4", respectively. For example, the diagram of "3/4" indicates that the virtual keyboard has four input modes in the input state represented by "12", and the current input mode is the third input mode in the sequence of four input modes.

In further embodiments, as the input button is rotated to the other face, an audible signal is generated that produces a sound effect to alert the user that the virtual keyboard will, is, or has entered the next input mode. In various implementations, rotation may occur on all or a portion of the input buttons, depending on the design.

2, 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams showing a virtual keyboard and its operation in other embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2 , the user's flipping, flicking, or swiping of the virtual keyboard 102 is performed along the long sides that are substantially parallel to the virtual keyboard 102 . After the flipping action, the input buttons included in the virtual keyboard 102 rotate from presenting the current face to presenting the other face. Assume that the layout of the virtual keyboard 102 is represented by layout "A" before the flip, flick or wipe action and is represented by layout "B" after the flip, flick or wipe action. The middle part of FIG. 2 shows that the virtual keyboard 102 is being rotated from layout "A" to layout "B"; the bottom part of FIG. 2 shows that the virtual keyboard 102 has been rotated from layout "A" to layout "B". Figure 2 also shows that during and after the rotation of the enter button, the first point displayed on the mode button 103 is de-highlighted and the second point displayed on the mode button 103 is highlighted.

Likewise, as shown in FIG. 3 , the user's flipping, flicking, or swiping action against the virtual keyboard 102 is performed along a short edge that is substantially parallel to the virtual keyboard 102 . The lower portion of FIG. 3 shows that the virtual keyboard 102 has been rotated from layout "A" to layout "B". Figure 3 also shows that after rotation of the enter button, the upper point displayed on the mode button 103 is de-highlighted, while the lower point displayed on the mode button 103 is highlighted.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the flipping, flicking or swiping action can be performed in any direction, such as from left to right, right to left, top to bottom, or bottom to top.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment in which only some of the input buttons included in the virtual keyboard 102 are rotated upon sensing a user's flipping, flicking or swiping action on the virtual keyboard. The lower part of FIG. 4 shows that the input buttons included in the right portion of the virtual keyboard have been rotated from layout “A” to layout “B”, while the input buttons (ie, number buttons) included in the left portion of the virtual keyboard 102 remain unchanged. Change.

Figure 5 is a flowchart of a method of using a virtual keyboard in one embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the method 500 starts at step S501 and starts a virtual keyboard at step S502. The virtual keyboard can be, for example, any virtual keyboard as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 . Typically, the launching of the virtual keyboard is performed during initialization of an application that requires input from the virtual keyboard during its interaction with the virtual keyboard or other components. In one embodiment, activation of the virtual keyboard includes, for example, displaying a plurality of input buttons and at least a mode button on a touch-sensitive display, as discussed with respect to FIGS. 1-4 . In step S503, the method 500 determines whether a tap, touch or press action is performed on the mode button, or whether a flip, flick or wipe action is performed on the input button of the virtual keyboard by sensing at least one electronic signal.

If the result in step S503 is "Yes", the method 500 proceeds to step S504. At step S504, the method 500 switches the virtual keyboard to a new input mode. In one embodiment, the virtual keyboard switches from layout "A" to layout "B", as shown in FIGS. 2-4 . At step S504, method 500 may additionally generate an audible signal as discussed above.

At step S505, the indications displayed on the mode button and the input button are updated to symbolize the button layout predetermined for the new input mode of the virtual keyboard. For example, in one embodiment, a different point displayed on the mode button will be highlighted, or a larger or smaller portion will be displayed on the mode button instead of a previously displayed portion. Afterwards, the method 500 returns to step S503.

If the result in step S503 is "No", the method 500 proceeds to step S506. At step S506, the method 500 determines whether an input representing exiting the virtual keyboard has been sensed, eg, by sensing another electronic signal. If the result in step S506 is "No", the method 500 proceeds to step S507. In step S507, the symbols, numbers or characters displayed on the display surface of the input button (which have been selected by the user by touching, tapping or pressing) are output by the virtual keyboard to the processor or application, as discussed in connection with FIG. 1 . Afterwards, the method 500 returns to step S503.

If the result in step S506 is "yes", the method 500 proceeds to step S508, where the method 500 ends.

It should be noted here that the steps and execution order as shown in FIG. 5 are only examples and do not limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art may change these steps after reading this specification, for example, by omitting, combining or adding some steps, and changing the execution order of some steps so as to adapt to different application requirements. For example, the order of steps S504 and S505 can be switched so that before switching to the next input mode, the mode button and input button are updated; the two steps can also be combined into a single step.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a device in another embodiment of the present invention equipped with or implementing a virtual keyboard or method as illustrated in Figs. 1-5. The devices shown in FIG. 6 are merely examples of electronic devices in which the present invention is implemented. In some embodiments, the device shown in FIG. 6 may be a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, an electronic dictionary or e-reader, a receipt printer, or the like. As shown in FIG. 6, device 60 includes at least one processor 600, virtual keyboard 601 (e.g., implemented in the area of a touch-sensitive display), codec circuitry 602, microphone 603, headset 604, radio interface circuitry 605, Antenna 606 , at least one memory storing computer program code 607 , infrared port 608 , display 609 (including, for example, the touch-sensitive display described above), smart card 610 and card reader 611 . The individual circuits and components are of types well known in the art and some of them are omitted here in order to unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the invention. As shown in FIG. 6 , memory 607 and computer program code stored therein are configured to cause processor 600 to activate virtual keyboard 601 . In one embodiment, activation of the virtual keyboard 601 includes displaying the virtual keyboard 601 on a touch-sensitive display; as described above, the virtual keyboard includes a plurality of input buttons, each input button including at least two faces. Activation of the virtual keyboard 601 also includes, for example, displaying an indication on the mode button indicating which of at least two sides of the plurality of input buttons is being displayed in the virtual keyboard 601 .

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations illustrating methods, apparatuses (ie, systems) and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, can be implemented by various means including computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be loaded on a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device to manufacture a machine, thereby executing the instructions on the computer or other programmable data processing device to create and implement one or more process blocks device for the specified function.

The above-mentioned computer program instructions may eg be subroutines and/or functions. A computer program product in one embodiment of the present invention includes at least one computer-readable storage medium on which the above-mentioned computer program instructions are stored. The computer-readable storage medium may for example be an optical compact disc or an electrical storage device like RAM (Random Access Memory) or ROM (Read Only Memory).

Those skilled in the art to which these inventions relate will recognize many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are used herein, they are used generically and descriptively only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims (28)

1. A method for displaying a virtual keyboard, comprising: displaying on a display screen a virtual keyboard comprising a plurality of input buttons, each input button comprising at least two faces, wherein each face corresponds to an input mode and rotation of the faces indicates switching between input modes; and An indication is displayed on the individual mode buttons indicating how many input modes are available on the virtual keyboard and which input mode is the current input mode, the current input mode corresponding to the face being displayed in the virtual keyboard. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: rotating at least one of the plurality of input buttons to a different face for display in response to sensing a flipping motion for the virtual keyboard; and The indication on the mode button is updated to indicate that a different face is being displayed. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the flipping action is performed in a direction substantially parallel to a long side of the virtual keyboard. 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the flipping action is performed in a direction substantially parallel to a short side of the virtual keyboard. 5. The method of claim 2, further comprising: An audible signal is generated accompanying rotation of the at least one input button. 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: rotating at least one of the plurality of input buttons to a different face for display in response to sensing a tap action for the mode button; and The indication on the mode button is updated to indicate that a different face is being displayed. 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: An audible signal is generated accompanying rotation of the at least one input button. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein at least two faces of the at least one input button represent at least two corresponding different symbols or characters, and the method further comprises: In response to sensing a touch action against a display surface of the at least two sides of the at least one input button, a corresponding symbol or character represented by the display surface is output to the processor. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual keyboard includes four by ten buttons. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein each input button includes at least three faces. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein each input button includes at least four faces. 12. The method of any one of claims 1-11, wherein displaying the indication comprises: displaying on said single mode button at least two points corresponding to at least two faces of a plurality of input buttons; and One of the points corresponding to one of at least two faces of a plurality of input buttons being displayed in the virtual keyboard is highlighted. 13. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, wherein displaying an indication comprises: A score is displayed on the single mode button, wherein the denominator of the score is equal to the total number of the at least two faces of the plurality of input buttons, and the numerator of the score indicates which of the at least two faces of the plurality of input buttons The face is being displayed in the virtual keyboard. 14. A device for displaying a virtual keyboard comprising: Means for displaying on a display screen a virtual keyboard comprising a plurality of input buttons, each input button comprising at least two faces, wherein each face corresponds to an input mode and rotation of the faces indicates switching between input modes ;as well as means for displaying on a single mode button an indication of how many input modes are available on said virtual keyboard and which input mode is the current input mode, said current input mode corresponding to the input mode being displayed in said virtual keyboard face. 15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising: means for rotating at least one of the plurality of input buttons to a different face for display in response to sensing a flipping motion for the virtual keyboard; and means for updating said indication on said mode button to indicate that a different face is being displayed. 16. The device of claim 15, wherein the flipping action is performed in a direction substantially parallel to a long side of the virtual keyboard. 17. The device of claim 15, wherein the flipping action is performed in a direction substantially parallel to a short edge of the virtual keyboard. 18. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising: Means for generating an audible signal accompanying rotation of at least one input button. 19. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising: means for rotating at least one of the plurality of input buttons to a different face for display in response to sensing a tap action for the mode button; and means for updating an indication on said mode button to indicate that a different face is being displayed. 20. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising: Means for generating an audible signal accompanying rotation of at least one input button. 21. The device according to claim 14, wherein at least two faces of said at least one input button represent at least two corresponding different symbols or characters, and the device further comprises: Means for outputting to a processor a corresponding symbol or character represented by said display surface in response to sensing a touch against a display surface of at least two sides of said at least one input button. 22. The device of claim 14, wherein the virtual keyboard includes four by ten buttons. 23. The device of claim 14, wherein each input button includes at least three faces. 24. The device of claim 14, wherein each input button includes at least four sides. 25. Apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 24, wherein the means for displaying an indication comprises: means for displaying on said single mode button at least two points corresponding to at least two faces of a plurality of input buttons; and Means for highlighting one of the points corresponding to one of at least two faces of a plurality of input buttons being displayed on the virtual keyboard. 26. Apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 24, wherein the means for displaying an indication comprises: means for displaying a score on the single mode button, wherein the denominator of the score is equal to the total number of at least two faces of the plurality of input buttons, and the numerator of the score indicates at least two faces of the plurality of input buttons Which of the faces is being displayed in the virtual keyboard. 27. A handheld device comprising an apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 25. 28. A device for displaying a virtual keyboard comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, The memory and computer program code are configured to cause at least one processor to execute: displaying on the display screen at least a virtual keyboard comprising a plurality of input buttons, each input button comprising at least two faces, wherein each face corresponds to an input mode and rotation of the faces indicates switching between input modes; and An indication is displayed on the individual mode buttons indicating how many input modes are available on the virtual keyboard and which input mode is the current input mode, the current input mode corresponding to the face being displayed in the virtual keyboard.