Handheld electronic device including cross application use of phone related inputs, and associated method

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon for execution by a processor of a mobile electronic device, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor:

• display, by an active application executing on the mobile electronic device, displayed information on a display, the displayed information depicting application data stored by the active application that is independent of data used to communicate the application data to the mobile electronic device, the active application being an application presently providing a user interface on the display for data communications with remote devices, the active application being at least one of an e-mail application, a messaging application, a memo application, a calendar application, a task application, or a browser application;
• determine, based on a pressing of a call-initiation key:
• which application within a plurality of stored applications is a currently active application;
• and
• whether or not there is a presently selected information portion within the displayed information of the currently active application where the presently selected information portion comprises contact related information;
• determine a present use state, the present use state being determined according to:
• which application is the currently active application;
• and
• which type of information comprises the presently selected information portion comprising an address book entry stored by an address book application;
• determine,
• based on the present use state,
• and based on accessing contact information stored within the address book application without opening or displaying the address book application,
• a detected contact entry stored by the address book application, the detected contact entry comprising the presently selected information portion;
• determine, based on determining the detected contact entry, a target telephone number associated with the detected contact entry;
• and
• place a call to the target telephone number.

A mobile electronic device, comprising:

• a memory having stored thereon an address book application, a phone application, and at least one other application, the at least one other application being an application other than the phone application and the address book application;
• a display screen configured to display, by an active application executing on the mobile electronic device, displayed information, the displayed information depicting application data stored by the active application that is independent of data used to communicate the application data to the mobile electronic device, the active application being an application presently providing a user interface on the display screen for data communications with remote devices, the active application being at least one of an e-mail application, a messaging application, a memo application, a calendar application, a task application, or a browser application;
• an input apparatus that when operating, receives a selection of a presently selected information portion from within the displayed information of a currently active application, the presently selected information portion comprising contact related information, the input apparatus further comprising a call-initiation key that is presented independently of a display of the presently selected information portion and that has a common fixed location relative to the display screen when different applications are displaying any displayed information on the display;
• a processor that, when operating:
• executes the applications stored on the memory;
• determining, based on a pressing of the call-initiation key:
• which application within a plurality of stored applications is the currently active application;
• and
• whether or not there is a presently selected information portion within the displayed information where the presently selected information portion comprises contact related information;
• detects, while the presently selected information portion is selected, a pressing of the call-initiation key that is present independently of the active application;
• determines a present use state, the present use state being determined according to:
• which application is the currently active application;
• and
• which type of information comprises the presently selected information portion comprising an address book entry;
• determines,
• based on the present use state,
• and based on accessing contact information stored within the address book application without opening or displaying the address book application,
• a detected contact entry stored by the address book application, the detected contact entry comprising the presently selected information portion;
• determines, based on determining the detected contact entry, a target telephone number associated with the detected contact entry;
• and
• places a call to the target telephone number.