Windows Phone Thoughts: Navigation: Shaking Your Way There

"SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 20, 2006 – InvenSense, the leading provider of motion sensing solutions for mobile applications, today announced a gyroscope-based solution for handsets that can enable easier and more intuitive user interaction through hand motions. Motion sensing has taken on significant importance in mobile devices as users seek easier and more intuitive ways of interacting with a growing assortment of fixed and mobile media, from small-screen mobile handsets with web browsers and speed dialers to music players, and even large-screen video games. Using hand gestures or body motion to navigate and control 2-D and 3-D digital space offers a natural and more universal interface tool as well as a more enjoyable user experience. The importance of motion sensing for consumer applications has been validated by large gaming manufacturers such as Sony™ and Nintendo™, who recently announced autumn deliveries of game controllers that can sense six degrees of freedom. However, even the latest IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) systems are typically composed of multiple components packaged together that are not practical or cost-effective enough for integration into tightly packed mobile handset circuitry. "

Gee, I can just see the next dance craze: Launch Inbox, Compose New Message!. Seriously, if this works it would be nice to simply move my device up / down to scroll pages in IE, or have special wrist flicks that started my favorite apps. I wouldn't care about hardware buttons as much, that's for sure! Now I just hope that initiating a soft reset or starting wireless audio doesn't make me look like I'm suffering an epileptic seizure!