A handheld electronic device with a reduced QWERTY keyboard and disambiguation software. The device outputs a default output and a number of variants. The output is based largely upon the likelihood that a user intended a particular output. Various features of the device provide additional variants that are not based solely on frequency, but are provided by various logic structures resident on thedevice. The device enables editing during text entry and also provides a learning function that allows the disambiguation function to adapt to provide a customized experience for the user. The disambiguation function can be selectively disabled and an alternate keystroke interpretation system provided. Additionally, the device can facilitate the selection of variants by displaying a graphic of aspecial key that enables a user to progressively select variants generally without changing the position of the user's hands on the device.