Method of controlling pointer in mobile terminal having pointing device

A method of controlling a pointer in a mobile terminal having a pointing device for controlling the pointer in a display unit, the method comprising:

• detecting movement input by the pointing device;
• identifying whether a current display mode is a search key mode;
• if the current display mode is the search key mode, identifying whether the detected movement satisfies a condition of changing the display mode;
• if the detected movement satisfies a condition of changing the display mode, displaying the pointer by changing the current display mode to a pointer mode;
• starting a measurement of an elapsed time while simultaneously displaying the pointer;
• identifying whether the measured elapsed time exceeds a predetermined value;
• and
• if the measured elapsed time exceeds a predetermined value, hiding the pointer by changing the current display mode to the search key mode,
• wherein the condition of changing a display mode is that the number of the detected movements exceeds a predetermined number greater than one within a predetermined period.