USER INPUT FOR HAND-HELD DEVICE

A touch interface for a hand held device having a selection tool is described herein. The selection tool allows a large group of selectable items to be displayed in a relatively small space on a touchscreen display, and appears as an element of a graphical user interface on the touchscreen display. The selection tool comprises a plurality of overlapping bands that are disposed at an angle relative to one another and that rotate about a common central area. Each band includes a subset of selectable items in a larger group of selectable items. A user makes a selection selecting a band containing a desired item as a top-most band and selecting the desired item. The selected item may comprise, for example, an icon representing an application, a file or folder, a menu item, or a character from a large character set.