Patent ID: 7825904

Claim:
An information processing apparatus provided with a display for displaying a screen including a plurality of items, a specifying means for specifying a selected item from the plurality of items using a direction key, the direction key for changing the selected item of the plurality of items, a specifying means for specifying a selected item by the direction key, an execution key for instructing execution of a process corresponding to the selected item specified by said specifying means, and an executing means for executing the process corresponding to the selected item specified by said specifying means when said execution key is operated, further comprising: a pointing device for pointing a position on said screen; an input detecting means for detecting presence or absence of an input by said pointing device; a measuring means for measuring a time continued in an input-present-state detected by said input detecting means; a first condition determining means for determining whether or not the time measured by said measuring means is above a threshold value; a coordinates detecting means for detecting coordinates of the position input by said pointing device, and a storage device storing item position data indicative of position coordinates corresponding to each of said plurality of items, wherein said specifying means specifies and changes said selected item by specifying said selected item corresponding to said coordinates detected by said coordinates detecting means on the basis of said item position data, said executing means, when it is detected that the input-present-state is shifted to an input-absent-state by said input detecting means, does not execute a process corresponding to said selected item specified by said specifying means if said time is above said threshold value as determined by said first condition determining means, and executes the process corresponding to said selected item specified by said specifying means if said time is not above said threshold value as determined by said first condition determining means.