1. A method of unlocking a hand-held electronic device, the device including a touch-sensitive display, the method comprising:
- detecting a contact with the touch-sensitive display at a first predefined location corresponding to an unlock image;
- moving the unlock image on the touch-sensitive display in accordance with movement of the contact while continuous contact with the touch screen is maintained; and
- unlocking the hand-held electronic device if the moving the unlock image on the touch-sensitive display results in movement of the unlock image from the first predefined location to a predefined unlock region on the touch-sensitive display.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the moving comprises movement along any desired path.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the moving comprises movement along a predefined channel from the first predefined location to the predefined unlock region.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying visual cues to communicate a direction of movement of the unlock image required to unlock the device.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the visual cues comprise text.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein said visual cues comprise an arrow indicating a general direction of movement.
7. A portable electronic device, comprising:
- a touch-sensitive display;
- memory;
- one or more processors; and
- one or more modules stored in the memory and configured for execution by the one or more processors, the one or more modules including instructions:
- to detect a contact with the touch-sensitive display at a first predefined location corresponding to an unlock image;
- to move the unlock image on the touch-sensitive display in accordance with movement of the detected contact while continuous contact with the touch-sensitive display is maintained; and
- to unlock the hand-held electronic device if the unlock image is moved from the first predefined location on the touch screen to a predefined unlock region on the touch-sensitive display.
8. The device of claim 7, further comprising instructions to display visual cues to communicate a direction of movement of the unlock image required to unlock the device.
9. The device of claim 8, wherein the visual cues comprise text.
10. The device of claim 8, wherein said visual cues comprise an arrow indicating a general direction of movement.
11. A portable electronic device, comprising:
- a touch-sensitive display;
- means for displaying an unlock image at a first predefined location on the touch-sensitive display while the device is in a user-interface lock state;
- means for detecting contact with the touch-sensitive display; and
- means for moving the unlock image on the touch-sensitive display in response to detecting the contact in accordance with movement of the contact while continuous contact with the touch screen is maintained; and
- means for transitioning the device to a user-interface unlock state if the moving the unlock image on the touch-sensitive display results in movement of the unlock image from the first predefined location to a predefined unlock region on the touch-sensitive display.
12. A computer program product for use in conjunction with a portable electronic device
- comprising a touch-sensitive display, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism comprising instructions for:
- detecting a contact with the touch-sensitive display at a first predefined location corresponding to an unlock image;
- moving the unlock image on the touch-sensitive display in accordance with movement of the contact while continuous contact with the touch screen is maintained; and
- unlocking the hand-held electronic device if the moving the unlock image on the touch-sensitive display results in movement of the unlock image from the first predefined location to a predefined unlock region on the touch-sensitive display.
