Patent ID: 8508487

Claim:
An information processing apparatus comprising: an operation input unit including an operation surface having virtual buttons that are variably set thereto; a position detection unit configured to detect whether a user touches the operation surface of the operation input unit, and to detect a position at which the user touches the operation surface of the operation input unit; a pressure detection unit configured to detect pressure applied by the user touching the operation surface of the operation input unit; and a virtual button control unit configured to interpret, when the position detection unit has detected the position at which the user touches the operation surface of the operation input unit, a virtual button corresponding to the detected position as a selected virtual button, and to correct, when the pressure detected by the pressure detection unit is equal to or greater than a first threshold value, a layout of the virtual buttons such that a size of the selected virtual button is enlarged according to intensity of the detected pressure, wherein the position detection unit is further configured to detect a direction in which the position at which the user touches the operation surface is deviated from a center of the virtual button and the virtual button control unit is further configured to expand the size of the selected virtual button in the detected direction of deviation.