VIRTUAL PRESS NUMBER PAD

1 . One or more computer-readable storage media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of configuring a surface of a device into a set of regions, the method comprising:

receiving a request to configure the surface of the device into the set of regions;

determining a configuration from a set of configurations in the device;

when the configuration is selected, identifying on the surface of the device each region in the set of regions;

defining boundaries of each region by associating each region with a set of coordinates; and

using the set of coordinates for each region to detect a gesture on the surface of the device wherein the surface detects the gesture in each region to represent a character.

2 . The media of claim 1 , wherein the set of regions is selected from a group including three regions.

3 . The media of claim 2 , further comprising dividing the surface horizontally or vertically into the set of regions to respectively have three parallel horizontal regions or three parallel vertical regions.

4 . The media of claim 1 , wherein determining the configuration comprises selecting the configuration from a choice of configurations stored in the device.

5 . The media of claim 1 , wherein the gesture includes one or more movements received within a timeframe.

6 . The media of claim 5 , wherein the same gesture received in each region results in a different character.

7 . The media of claim 1 , wherein the character is selected from a group including numbers.

8 . One or more computer-readable storage media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of recognizing touches in association with a character, comprising:

dividing a surface of a device into a set of regions;

receiving one or more touches in contact with the surface of the device;

receiving the one or more touches in a first region of the set of regions wherein the one or more touches occur within a timeframe;

associating the one or more touches with one or more characters wherein one touch in the first region results in a first character, two touches in the first region result in a second character, and three touches in the first region result in a third character; and

performing the same one or more touches in a second region of the set of regions to result in one or more different characters wherein the one touch in the second region results in a fourth character, the two touches in the second region result in a fifth character, and the three touches in the second region result in a sixth character.

9 . The media of claim 8 , further comprising performing the same one or more touches in a third region of the set of regions to result in one or more other different characters wherein the one touch in the third region results in a seventh character, the two touches in the third region result in an eighth character, and the three touches in the third region result in a ninth character.

10 . The media of claim 9 , wherein the set of regions is selected from a group including three regions.

11 . The media of claim 10 , further comprising dividing the surface horizontally or vertically into the set of regions to respectively have three parallel horizontal regions or three parallel vertical regions.

12 . The media of claim 9 , wherein the character is selected from a group including numbers.

13 . One or more computer-readable storage media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of providing configurations that establish how inputs are received into a computing device, the method comprising:

selecting a configuration from a set of configurations stored in the computing device wherein the set of configurations establishes how a set of gestures are received on the surface of the computing device;

modifying the surface of the computing device to identify distinct regions on the surface when the configuration is selected;

activating software in the computing device so that when one or more touches on the surface are received within a timeframe the one or more touches are recognized respectively as one or more gestures;

mapping the one or more gestures respectively to one or more characters wherein one touch received in one region results in a first character, two touches in the one region result in a second character, and three touches in the one region result in a third character; and

displaying the one or more characters on a display device in the computing device.

14 . The media of claim 14 , further comprising converting the one or more gestures into a set of coordinates.

15 . The media of claim 13 , wherein modifying the surface comprises dividing the surface horizontally or vertically into the set of regions to respectively have three parallel horizontal regions or three parallel vertical regions.

16 . The media of claim 13 , wherein mapping the one or more gestures respectively to the one or more characters includes mapping the one or more gestures to one or more numbers.

17 . The media of claim 13 , wherein mapping the one or more gestures respectively to the one or more characters includes mapping the one or more gestures to one or more letters.

18 . The media of claim 13 , wherein mapping the one or more gestures respectively to the one or more characters includes mapping the one or more gestures to one or more symbols.

19 . The media of claim 13 , wherein a same gesture of the one or more gestures received in each region of the distinct regions result in a different character.