Communication device for users with limited physical dexterity

An improved electronic device for users having limited physical dexterity comprising:

• a body comprising a front facing side;
• a plurality of input devices physically accessible from the front facing side, wherein the plurality of input devices comprises at least a touchscreen display and a physical keyboard;
• a processor internal to the body and coupled to the plurality of input devices;
• memory internal to the body and coupled to the processor, the memory containing programs to cause the processor to operate the electronic device, the programs including a program to cause the processor to interact with the plurality of input devices;
• a transceiver coupled to the processor and adapted to communicate with a base station;
• and
• a sensor for detecting the presence of an obstruction in front of the touch screen display,
• wherein the processor, when executing a program in the memory in the absence of a detected obstruction to the touchscreen by the sensor, automatically disables the control capabilities of the touchscreen display based on the contextual usage of the device by a user of the touchscreen.

An improved electronic device for users having limited physical dexterity comprising:

• a plurality of input devices, wherein the plurality of input devices comprises at least a touchscreen display and a physical keyboard;
• a processor;
• memory containing programs to cause the processor to operate the electronic device, the programs including a program to cause the processor to interact with the plurality of input devices;
• a transceiver;
• a system interconnect coupled to the plurality of input devices, processor, memory, and transceiver;
• and
• a sensor for detecting the presence of an obstruction in front of the touch screen display,
• wherein the processor, when executing a program in the memory in the absence of a detected obstruction to the touchscreen by the sensor, disables the control capabilities of the touchscreen display based on a user input or automatically based on the contextual usage of the device by a user of the touch screen.