Information input apparatus

An information input apparatus, comprising:

• a housing, said housing having a front surface, with an upper portion of said front surface across a width of said housing projecting forward from the rest of said front surface to form an upper projection, a back surface, a bottom surface and two side surfaces;
• a photographic device being positioned within said upper projection and being operable to receive images from objects;
• a first operating mechanism for operating said photographic device being positioned vertically below said photographic device;
• and
• a touch-sensitive device for receiving two-dimensional positional data, said touch-sensitive device being located vertically below said photographic device.

An information input apparatus, comprising:

• a housing, said housing having outer dimensions including a height, a width and a depth, with the height being the maximum dimension, the width being the intermediate dimension and the depth being the minimum dimension, a front surface of said housing having an upper portion across the width of said housing projecting forward from the rest of the front surface to form an upper projection;
• an imaging means for receiving an image from an object and converting said image into first electrical signals, said imaging means being positioned in said upper projection at a first vertical height from a bottom surface of said housing;
• and
• a memory means for recording said first electrical signals, said memory means being positioned within said housing at a second vertical height from the bottom surface of said housing, with said second vertical height being less than said first vertical height.