A programmable mobile terminal which includes a thumb wheel for selecting
among a plurality of functions executable by the mobile terminal. The
programmable mobile terminal allows a user to employ the same hand that
is holding the mobile terminal to scroll through and select a function
among a plurality of functions via the thumb wheel. The wheel portion of
thumb wheel is rotated either clockwise or counter clockwise by the
user's thumb or other finger to scroll a screen cursor through the
functions and once the screen cursor of the mobile terminal is positioned
at a desired function, the user can depress the wheel portion in a
transaxial direction with the same thumb or finger to select the desired
function. Also, the programmable mobile terminal allows a user to scan
bar code information and use the thumb wheel for selecting among a
plurality of functions relating to the scanned bar code information.