For what I would call a change of pace, Amazon has released Sign, a speed dial alternative, for free on the Amazon Appstore for Android today.
Though this isn't a new concept as Google itself has a free app called Gesture Search that applies the same concept but with additional applications. Sign allows you to create a custom gesture to apply to a contact. Successfully draw the image and the contact will be automatically dialed. I wouldn't consider this a time saver, maybe a safety feature for use while driving if you can't simply use voice recognition with your headset.
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