Instead of moving the cursor multiple steps in one direction by pressing and holding one of the cursor arrows (for up, down, left, right), allow the user to set the direction of cursor movement with the first press (up/down or left/right) and determine distance (number of steps) from the initial position using continuous circular motions either clockwise or counterclockwise to move the cursor to positions after (clockwise) or before (counterclockwise) the initial position. Direction and distance from the initial position are more easily controlled. 

For instance, to move the cursor multiple characters to the left of the current (initial) position, press the left (or right) arrow and swipe your finger in a circular motion counterclockwise until the cursor is where you want it. To move the cursor multiple lines up, press the up (or down) arrow and swipe in a continuous counterclockwise circular motion until the desired line before the initial position is reached. 

Tell me if more explanation is needed.

It's another interesting take on how to handle touchbased text navigation and I'm rather fond of it. Best of all, it's opensource! https://github.com/adamhoracek/KOKeyboard/