1. A portable electronic device comprising: a display; user controls configured to enable a user to select between at least an up input, a down input, a left input, a right input, and a confirmation input; a storage memory; a data processing system; and a program memory communicatively connected to the data processing system and configured to store instructions configured to cause the data processing system to provide a user-specified input string, wherein the display is configured to display a string input interface wherein the string input interface includes: a string entry section for displaying the user-specified input string; and at least two independently scrollable character selection sections, the at least two independently scrollable character selection sections separate from the string entry section, wherein each independently scrollable character selection section enables a user to select from a corresponding predefined set of characters, wherein only a subset of the corresponding predefined set of characters are displayed in each of the at least two independently scrollable character selection sections at a particular time, wherein each of the at least two independently scrollable character selection sections enables scrolling between a plurality of characters within a respective independently scrollable character selection section; wherein the program memory includes instructions to accept user input provided using the user controls to sequentially select characters to specify the user-specified input string, wherein the up input and the down input are used to select one of the at least two independently scrollable character selection sections, the left input and the right input are used to scroll through the predefined set of characters in the selected independently scrollable character selection section to select a particular character, and the confirmation input is used to add the selected particular character to the input string displayed in the string entry section; and wherein the storage memory is configured to store the input string.
1. A portable electronic device comprising: a display; user controls configured to enable a user to select between at least an up input, a down input, a left input, a right input, and a confirmation input; a storage memory; a data processing system; and a program memory communicatively connected to the data processing system and configured to store instructions configured to cause the data processing system to provide a user-specified input string, wherein the display is configured to display a string input interface wherein the string input interface includes: a string entry section for displaying the user-specified input string; and at least two independently scrollable character selection sections, the at least two independently scrollable character selection sections separate from the string entry section, wherein each independently scrollable character selection section enables a user to select from a corresponding predefined set of characters, wherein only a subset of the corresponding predefined set of characters are displayed in each of the at least two independently scrollable character selection sections at a particular time, wherein each of the at least two independently scrollable character selection sections enables scrolling between a plurality of characters within a respective independently scrollable character selection section; wherein the program memory includes instructions to accept user input provided using the user controls to sequentially select characters to specify the user-specified input string, wherein the up input and the down input are used to select one of the at least two independently scrollable character selection sections, the left input and the right input are used to scroll through the predefined set of characters in the selected independently scrollable character selection section to select a particular character, and the confirmation input is used to add the selected particular character to the input string displayed in the string entry section; and wherein the storage memory is configured to store the input string. 5. The portable electronic device of claim 1 wherein the predefined set of characters for one of the at least two independently scrollable character selection sections includes alphabetic characters.