A method and system for providing a user interface for a handheld device that can be operated with one hand renders multiple items on the screen of the handheld device that are designed to match the footprint of a thumb or other finger. A user selects an item in the user interface by pressing it with their finger. The handheld interface system receives the user's selection as an area of the screen that the user touched. The handheld interface system determines a probability that each of the multiple items rendered on the screen was the focus of the user's selection. Then, the handheld interface system displays a subsequent screen based on the determined probability.