An apparatus and a method for tapping input to an electronic device, including an attachable tapping template

An apparatus and method for tapping input on electronic devices are provided. An electronic device, such as a phone, a media playing device, or a personal digital assistant, detects a tap by a user on a surface of the device using one or more motion sensors. Based on the data from the motion sensors, a location upon the surface of the device is determined, and based on that location, an action is performed. Tap input may be interpreted based upon a mode of operation of the device, orientation of the device, timing of the taps, or based on user-defined criteria. An attachable tapping template is provided which can be attaches[ to an electronic device and share information about the template with the device using a radio frequency or electrical identifier.