Hi,
I think you really should carry the DFRobot LCD Keypad Shield for Arduino
http://www.robotshop.com/dfrobot-lcd-ke … ino-1.html
Why? If one does output, one usually wants input. This shield has 6 buttons, including an up-down-left-right navigation layout.
I had to order one from Hong-Kong because I didn’t see anything comparable in our hemisphere.
One desired improvement: 4 rows instead of two. But as far as simplicity for human interface I/O, there is nothing comparable.