A variety of portable devices such as electronic book readers (“e-book readers”), cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), portable media players, tablet computers, netbooks, and the like, may orient display of content in relation to motion of the device. For example, a cellular phone may automatically reorient text on a screen from a “portrait” orientation to a “landscape” orientation or vice versa upon rotation of the device.
However, the very portability of these devices may make this automatic reorientation distracting or undesirable to a user. For example, a user holding the portable device while laying down may roll from one side to another, with such motion triggering an undesired and inadvertent orientation change. In another example, a user in an airplane experiencing turbulence may also suffer undesirable orientation changes.