The input device 915 is a device which is operated by a user, such as a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, buttons, switches and a lever. The input device 915 may be, for example, a remote control unit using infrared light or other radio waves, or may be an external connection device 929 such as a portable phone operable in response to the operation of the information processing apparatus 900. Furthermore, the input device 915 includes an input control circuit which generates an input signal on the basis of the information which is input by a user and outputs the input signal to the CPU 901. By operating the input device 915, a user can input various types of data to the information processing apparatus 900 or issue instructions for causing the information processing apparatus 900 to perform a processing operation.
The output device 917 includes a device capable of visually or audibly notifying the user of acquired information. The output device 917 may include a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a PDP (Plasma Display Panel), and an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) displays, an audio output device such as a speaker or a headphone, and a peripheral device such as a printer. The output device 917 may output the results obtained from the process of the information processing apparatus 900 in a form of a video such as text or an image, and an audio such as voice or sound.