The new ksh93 (if you have it) seems to be able to do this in emacs/gmacs editing mode (and also in vi mode, although any use of the arrow keys puts it in command mode (unlike real vi, which can be persuaded to map the arrow keys in both command and insert/overtype mode)).
That assumes a terminal (emulator) that generates ANSI escape sequences for the arrow keys. Others may also be made to work using KEYBD traps, but won't work automatically since AFAIK, ksh93's inline editing is not curses-aware. Works ok for me with dtterm, gnome-terminal, /usr/openwin/bin/xterm, and /opt/sfw/bin/xterm. This message posted from opensolaris.org
