keyboard / keypad idea

[Derek Pressnall]

Since devices like the neo 1973 and the iphone don't have a keypad, I
thought of an idea that could provide a close substitute.
How about making a screen protector type of overlay that is
transparent at the top, but the bottom section would have raised bumps
in a keypad layout?  I'm thinking of maybe a rubbery neoprene type of
material or something.  Then you would still be using the touch screen
for input (pressure applied to the bumps would transfer through the
overlay to the touch screen), but the keypad pattern would show up
through the bottom part of the overlay (with the "bumps") where you
could still "blind dial".

Add in a hinged connection at the top of the overlay, and possibly a
sensor that could switch the phone's screen between normal mode and
"phone only" mode when the overlay is in use, and you could have a
very cheap method of obtainin a keypad similar to a Motorola A780.  So
what does everyone think?