A mobile device enables the performance of an operation, which can be performed with only coarse granularity using a touchscreen, to be performed with finer granularity in response to detection of stimulus via mechanisms other than the touchscreen. For example, the mobile device can use its sensors (e.g., accelerometer, gyroscope, etc.) to detect a tapping motion against a non-touchscreen surface of that mobile device. In response to detecting such physical interaction, the mobile device can perform the operation with a level of precision that cannot be achieved when the performance of the operation is attempted via interaction with the touchscreen. The level of granularity of performance can vary with the interaction's force. For example, a tap performed with lesser force can cause a displayed object to move one pixel, while a tap performed with greater force can cause that displayed object to move five pixels.