1. A computer-implemented user interface method for a computing device, the method comprising: associating each of a plurality of telephone keys with a direction of each key relative to a center of a telephone keypad; receiving a contact from a user of the device at a location on a touch input surface of a computing device and an input at a direction relative to the location of the user contact; causing a character to be entered on the computing device based on the direction of each key relative to the center of the telephone keypad corresponding to the direction relative to the location of the user contact.