referring initially to fig1 , a ce device 10 is shown that includes a typically portable lightweight plastic housing 12 bearing a digital processor 14 . the processor 14 can control a visual display 16 and an audible display 18 such as one or more speakers . the visual display 16 may be , e . g ., a capacitive touchscreen display , although other display types may be used . to undertake present principles , the processor 14 may access one or more computer readable storage media 20 such as but not limited to disk - based or solid state storage . in example non - limiting embodiments , the media 20 may store various software modules , including , for example , a clock module 22 for presenting a visual indication of time on the display 16 , and one or more widgets 24 that may be provided by third parties and / or by the manufacturer of the ce device . by “ widget ” is meant a portable module of computer software that can be installed and executed within , for example , a html - based web page by an end user without requiring compilation . widgets can take the form of on - screen tools ( such as , e . g ., clocks , event countdowns , auction - tickers , stock market tickers , flight arrival information , daily weather etc ). additionally , the media 20 may store a tilt detection module 26 and a tap detection module 28 . the tilt detection module 26 can be executed by the processor 14 to translate acceleration signals from the below - described accelerometer into an indication of tilting the ce device 10 about one or more spatial axes . because the acceleration signals represent acceleration in each of the three dimensions of space , such translation to tilt is straightforward , essentially representing the combination of three acceleration vectors . in contrast , the tap module 28 may be executed by the processor 14 to determine that a person has tapped the housing 12 by observing a spike ( sudden increase followed by sudden decrease ) in acceleration in at least one of the three dimensions . the media 20 may also include one or more feature application ( s ) 30 such as an e - book application , a recipe application , a notes application in which , for instance , a user can input handwriting by moving a stylus over the display 16 which is then translated by image recognition software into alpha - numeric character code for storage , and a music / video player application , a grocery list application in which , for instance , a user can input grocery items by moving a stylus over the display 16 which is then translated by image recognition software into alpha - numeric character code for storage . additionally , the media 20 may bear a volume control module 32 and a screen navigation module 34 . a wireless access point ( ap ) map module 36 may also be stored on the media 20 . the left portion of fig1 shows that in addition to the processor 14 , displays 16 , 18 , and media 20 , the housing 12 may hold a magnetometer 38 which outputs a signal to the processor 14 representing magnetic north . also , an accelerometer assembly 40 communicates acceleration signals to the processor 14 for purposes to be shortly disclosed . in one example , the accelerometer 40 is a mems - based accelerometer which outputs signals representing acceleration in each of the three spatial dimensions . in some example , a radiofrequency identification ( rfid ) reader 42 may input signals to the processor 14 indicating ids read from rfid tags external to the housing 12 . a computer clock 44 may also be provided to output a time of day signal to the processor 14 for display of the time on the visual display 16 and for , e . g ., the sounding of a time - based alarm on the audible display 18 . if desired , a wireless network interface 46 may be in the housing 12 and may communicate with the processor 14 to permit the processor 14 to communicate with a wide area computer network such as the internet . the interface 46 may be , without limitation , a wifi interface . fig1 a shows the signals generated by the accelerometer 40 when a person taps on the housing 12 . for purposes of exposition , assume that in the figures the x - dimension extends horizontally ( left to right looking down on the figures ), the y - dimension extends vertically ( from top to bottom on the page ), and the z - axis extends out of the paper . assume further that positive x acceleration is right to left , positive y acceleration is bottom to top , and positive z acceleration is into the page , it being understood that these conventions are for illustration only and non - limiting . fig1 a thus assumes that a first , positive signal 48 is generated when a user taps on the right edge of the housing 12 , and a second , negative signal 50 is generated when a user taps on the left edge . similarly , positive and negative spikes are generated in the y dimension when the user respectively taps on the bottom and top edges of the housing 12 , etc . by noting which dimension and which polarity a spike has , the processor 14 executing the tap module 28 can readily determine which part of the housing has been tapped and , thus , can readily correlate positional taps to user input signals having intended predetermined meanings . fig2 and 3 illustrate that a clock mode can be entered by executing the clock module 22 shown in fig1 in which a time of day presentation 52 is shown on the display 16 . as indicated by the “ tap ” icons in fig2 , a person can tap various edges / surfaces of the ce device 10 to signal intended input meanings in the clock mode . fig3 is a table showing example non - limiting correlations between tap location and / or number of taps on the one hand and intended command meanings on the other . as shown in fig3 , a double tap ( two taps in succession within a predetermined period of time , e . g ., one second ) on the right edge 54 of the ce device 10 is interpreted by the processor 14 as a command to present on the display 16 a first alarm menu , from which the user may select , using selector elements presented on the touchscreen display 16 , various alarm parameters , e . g ., on time , etc . two taps on the left edge 56 , on the other hand , signal a command to the processor 14 to present a second alarm menu on the display 16 which might provide for , e . g ., setting alarm volume , duration , etc . on the other hand , a single tap on the top 58 of the ce device 10 may correlate to a “ snooze ” command which , when received by the processor 14 , causes the processor 14 to silence or terminate any audible alarm being presented on the audio display 18 ( shown in fig1 ). a single tap on the face of the display , in contrast , may indicate a command to toggle between a twelve hour time presentation and a twenty four hour presentation . fig4 - 13 show tap - based user command input for various example application modes when entering the applications and executing the appropriate application module 30 . for instance , fig4 shows that the ce device 10 may be provided with an electronic book reader application , in which case a book text presentation 60 can be presented on the display 16 . as shown in the table of fig5 , a single tap on the right edge 54 can correlate to a command to cause the processor 14 to present on the display 16 the page previous in the e - book file to the page being currently displayed . a double tap on the right edge can correlate to a command to cause the processor 14 to present on the display 16 the chapter previous in the e - book file to the chapter being currently displayed . shaking in two dimensions can cause the processor 14 to delete the e - book file from the media 20 . in contrast , a single tap on the left edge 56 can correlate to a command to cause the processor 14 to present on the display 16 the next page in the e - book file relative to the page being currently displayed , whereas a double tap on the left edge can correlate to a command to cause the processor 14 to present on the display 16 the next chapter in the e - book file . a single tap on the top 58 of the ce device 10 can be correlated to a command to cause the text to scroll upward on the display 16 , while a double tap on top can command the processor 14 to display the top of the page being currently presented . a single tap on the bottom of the ce device 10 can be correlated to a command to cause the text to scroll downward on the display 16 , while a double tap on the bottom can command the processor 14 to display the bottom of the page being currently presented . fig6 and 7 show that a music / video application may be provided on the ce device 10 for playing music and / or videos downloaded through , e . g ., the wifi interface 46 and stored on the media 20 . a presentation 62 showing text and / or icons and / or thumbnails of available content may be shown on the display 16 and controlled using taps , example correlations of which are shown in fig7 . for example , a single tap on the right side 54 can be interpreted as a command to play the current song at the beginning , while a double tap can be interpreted to mean play the previous song . a single tap on the left side can correlate to a command to play the next song . shaking the housing 12 can be interpreted to play random songs . pause and play the current song can be commanded by respectively tapping once and twice on the face of the display 16 . fig8 and 9 show that a note taking application may be provided on the ce device 10 for generating computer files representing handwriting recognition output based on user writing on the display 16 . a presentation 64 showing text of notes may be shown on the display 16 and controlled using taps , example correlations of which are shown in fig9 . for example , a single tap on the right side 54 can be interpreted as a command to show the previous note in the current note file while a tap on the left side 56 can be correlated to a command to show the next note . shaking the ce device 10 can be correlating to a command to erase the current note . a single tap on the face of the display 16 can mean “ list a directory of notes ” while a double tap on the face or rear of the housing 12 can be correlated to a command to download the note to another component such as an intelligent telephone . fig1 and 11 show that a recipe application may be provided on the ce device 10 for storing , viewing , and managing meal recipes . accordingly , a presentation 66 showing text of recipes may be shown on the display 16 and controlled using taps , example correlations of which are shown in fig1 . for example , a single tap on the right side 54 can be interpreted as a command to show a previous recipe ( to the currently presented recipe ) in a recipe directory stored on , e . g ., the media 20 , while a double tap on this surface can correlate to a command to show the previous category of recipes in the event that the recipe directory is partitioned by categories , e . g ., “ lunch ” and “ dinner ”. similarly , a single tap on the left side 56 can be interpreted as a command to show a next recipe ( to the currently presented recipe ) in the recipe directory while a double tap on this surface can correlate to a command to show the next category of recipes . shaking the housing 12 can be interpreted by the processor 14 as a command to erase the currently display recipe . furthermore , a single tap on the face of the display 16 can mean “ list a directory of recipes ” while a double tap on the face or rear of the housing 12 can be correlated to a command to download the recipe to another component such as an intelligent telephone . fig1 and 13 show that a grocery list application may be provided on the ce device 10 for storing , viewing , and managing grocery lists . accordingly , a presentation 68 showing text of grocery lists may be shown on the display 16 and controlled using taps , example correlations of which are shown in fig1 . for example , a single tap on the right side 54 can be interpreted as a command to show a previous item on the current list , while a double tap on this surface can correlate to a command to show the previous list . similarly , a single tap on the left side 56 can be interpreted as a command to show a next item ( to the currently presented or highlighted item ) in the list while a double tap on this surface can correlate to a command to show the next list . shaking the housing 12 can be interpreted by the processor 14 as a command to erase the currently display grocery list . furthermore , a single tap on the face of the display 16 can mean “ list a directory of grocery lists ” while a double tap on the rear of the housing 12 can be correlated to a command to download the currently displayed list to another component such as an intelligent telephone . with the above in mind , it may now be appreciated that present principles provide a ce device with an intuitive user interface in which fundamentally natural human gestures can be correlated to intuitive input signals . fig1 provides example logic structure that may be executed by the processor 14 . fig1 is directed to a snooze feature , an example of which is described above , when in the clock mode . commencing at block 70 the clock mode is entered and at block 72 an audible alarm presented on the audio display 18 at a user - defined alarm time . block 74 indicates that the processor 14 receives from the accelerometer 40 a spike signal indicating a tap , and the tap , in the clock mode , may occur anywhere on the housing 12 , i . e ., in any of the three dimensions . the alarm is silenced in response at block 76 . while the particular accelerometer - based tapping user interface is herein shown and described in detail , it is to be understood that the subject matter which is encompassed by the present invention is limited only by the claims .