Non-modal search box with text-entry ribbon for a portable media player

A method of locating and selecting objects on a portable media device, the method comprising:

• receiving a character string from a user, wherein the character string is selected by the user from characters displayed on a screen of the portable media device, and wherein the character string comprises one or more characters indicative of one or more objects located on the portable media device;
• identifying a list of objects located on the portable media device that are associated with the received character string;
• displaying to the user the received character string and the list of identified objects;
• and
• allowing the user to move between the displayed character string and the displayed list of objects, wherein the user may modify the character string when the user has navigated to the character string and the user may select an object from the list of objects when the user has navigated to the list of objects.

A method of locating and selecting objects on a portable computing device that has a screen with limited display capacity, the method comprising:

• allowing a user to navigate horizontally to enter one or more characters on the screen, wherein the characters are indicative of one or more objects located on the portable computing device;
• identifying one or more objects located on the portable computing device that are associated with the entered characters;
• displaying to the user the entered characters horizontally on the screen and the identified one or more objects in a vertical list on the screen, wherein the entered characters and the list of objects are displayed concurrently on the screen;
• and
• allowing the user to navigate vertically to select among the list of objects and horizontally to modify the entered characters.

A system for locating and selecting objects on a portable computing device that has a screen with limited display capacity, the system comprising:

• an input component that allows the user to navigate horizontally to enter one or more characters on a screen of the portable computing device, wherein the characters are indicative of one or more objects located on the device;
• a filtering component for identifying one or more objects located on the portable computing device that are associated with the entered characters;
• a display component for displaying to the user the entered characters horizontally on the screen and a list of the identified one or more objects vertically on the screen, wherein the entered characters and the list of identified objects are displayed concurrently on the same screen;
• and
• a navigation component for allowing the user to navigate vertically to select from among the list of displayed objects and horizontally to modify the one or more displayed characters.