Graphical scroll wheel

A portable electronic system configured to provide a graphical user interface supporting scrolling, the portable electronic system comprising:

• a display screen, the display screen adapted to display a scrollable set of items;
• a touch sensor stacked with the display screen, the touch sensor adapted to sense object motion in a sensing region, wherein the sensing region overlaps at least part of the display screen;
• and
• a processor, the processor coupled to the display screen and the touch sensor, wherein the processor is adapted to cause a scroll wheel indicating a substantially circular scrolling path to appear on the display screen in response to the touch sensor sensing object motion corresponding to a scrolling initiation gesture, wherein the processor is further adapted to cause scrolling through the scrollable set of items in response to the touch sensor sensing, after sensing the object motion corresponding to the scrolling initiation gesture, subsequent object motion along the substantially circular scrolling path, and wherein the processor is further adapted to cause the scroll wheel to disappear.

A method of enabling scrolling in an electronic system having a touch screen, the method comprising:

• displaying a set of scrollable items on the touch screen;
• sensing object motion proximate to the touch screen;
• determining if the object motion corresponds to a scrolling initiation gesture and causing a scroll wheel indicating a scrolling path to appear on the display screen if the object motion corresponds to the scrolling initiation gesture;
• sensing subsequent object motion proximate to the touch screen, the subsequent object motion occurring after sensing the object motion corresponding to the scrolling initiation gesture;
• and
• determining if the subsequent object motion substantially follows the scrolling path, and causing scrolling through the set of scrollable items if the subsequent object motion substantially follows the scrolling path.