An electronic device such as a cellular telephone may be used to gather pointing input from a user. During operation, the electronic device may be held by a user. Orientation information such as information on an orientation of the electronic device relative to an external surface may be gathered using a camera, accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, or other orientation sensor. The gathered input may serve as pointing input for use in drawing visual elements such as lines in content being projected onto the external surface or content being displayed using displays. Pointing input and other input may also be used to select displayed items and take other actions. Displays for displaying image content may form part of an electronic device being held by the user, a desktop device, or other devices. A steerable projector may be used in displaying projected images such as images containing content based on pointing input.