Method for unlocking a portable multimedia player and apparatus thereof

A method of unlocking a portable multimedia player (PMP) having a display unit and a plurality of direction keys, the method comprising:

• displaying a maze background image on the display unit;
• inputting a maze path by using at least one of the plurality of direction keys;
• determining whether or not the input maze path matches a maze path preset by a user to generate a determination result;
• and
• if the determination result indicates that the input maze path matches the maze path preset by the user, unlocking the PMP.

An apparatus having a display unit and a plurality of direction keys, the apparatus comprising:

• a direction key input reception unit which receives an input signal of a direction key of the plurality of direction keys from a user;
• a display unit which displays a path corresponding to the input signal of the direction key;
• a storage unit which stores a preset entire path that can be compared with the displayed path;
• and
• a control unit which determines whether or not the path corresponding to the input signal matches the stored preset entire path and which, if the path corresponding to the input signal matches the stored preset entire path, performs a predetermined function.

An apparatus for unlocking a portable multimedia player (PMP) capable of reproducing voice and image files, the apparatus comprising:

• a storage unit which stores a maze background image and an entire maze path preset by a user;
• a user input unit comprising direction keys which receives a user input of a user maze path;
• a display unit which displays the maze background image and the user maze path;
• and
• a control unit which determines whether or not the user maze path input by the user matches the entire maze path preset by the user, and which, if the user maze path matches the entire maze path preset by the user, unlocking the PMP.

A computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computer program for executing a method of unlocking a portable multimedia player (PMP) comprising a display unit and a plurality of direction keys, wherein the method comprises:

• displaying a maze background image on the display unit;
• inputting a maze path by using at least one of the plurality of direction keys;
• determining whether or not the input maze path matches a maze path preset by the user to generate a determination result;
• and
• if the determination result indicates that the input maze path matches the maze path preset by the user, unlocking the PMP.