It's sort of interesting -- Palm similarly extends the touch area beyond the screen on the Pre and the Pixi, but not quite like this -- but we can't see how touching the bezel next to an on-screen label is much better than just pressing the screen.
The touchscreen monitor prototype is capable of 10-point multi-touch option, allowing users to perform multiple gestures at once simply by touching the screen, which is especially useful for portraying and interfacing with images, graphics, complex visual elements or architectural designs.
The concept is roughly the same: by waving your hand left and right over the front-facing camera, you can answer calls and navigate through pics and music without touching the screen.