Display management for communication devices with multiple displays

1. For a communication device using a plurality of displays, a method of controlling the displays comprising:

responsive to receiving an event within a display manager from an application, determining whether a single event or multiple events are pending;

when a single event is pending, instructing the application to write data corresponding to the received event to a primary display of the communication device without the display manager writing data to the primary display, and the display manager writing data corresponding to the received event to a secondary display without the application writing data to the secondary display; and

when multiple events are pending, preventing the application from writing data to the primary display, and the display manager writing data corresponding to the multiple events to the primary display and the secondary display.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a single event is pending, the method further comprising, responsive to detecting a user input, instructing the application to remove the data corresponding to the event from the primary display.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein a single event is pending, the method further comprising, responsive to detecting the communication device being placed in an open position, allowing the data corresponding to the event to remain on the primary display.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein multiple events are pending, the method further comprising, responsive to detecting a user input, the display manager removing data corresponding to the multiple events from the primary display and the secondary display.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein multiple events are pending, the method further comprising the display manager presenting, upon the secondary display, an indication that multiple events are pending and presenting, upon the primary display, a list of the multiple events without involvement of the application.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising the display manager, responsive to detecting the communication device being placed in an open position, clearing the secondary display and allowing the list of the multiple events to remain on the primary display.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

responsive to receiving the event from the application, selecting a different application within the communication device that is associated with the event; and

automatically launching the selected application.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

responsive to receiving the event from the application, first determining whether the communication device is in an emergency mode; and

if so, instructing the application that multiple events are pending such that the application does not write to either the primary display or the secondary display.

9. A communication device comprising:

a plurality of displays comprising a primary display and a secondary display; and

a display manager that receives events from one or more applications and, responsive to receiving an event from an application, determines whether a single event or multiple events are pending;

when a single event is pending, the display manager instructs the application to write data corresponding to the received event to a primary display of the communication device without the display manager writing data to the primary display, and the display manager writes data corresponding to the received event to a secondary display without the application writing data to the secondary display; and

when multiple events are pending, the display manager prevents the application from writing data to the primary display, and the display manager writes data corresponding to the multiple events to the primary display and the secondary display.

10. The communication device of claim 9 , wherein the communication device is a flip style mobile station, the primary display is an internal display, and the secondary display is an external display.

11. The communication device of claim 9 , wherein if a single event is pending, the display manager further, responsive to detecting a user input, instructs the application to remove event data from the primary display.

12. The communication device of claim 9 , wherein if a single event is pending, the display manager further, responsive to detecting the communication device being placed in an open position, exits, thereby allowing event data from the application to remain on the primary display.

13. The communication device of claim 9 , wherein if multiple events are pending, the display manager, responsive to detecting a user input, removes data corresponding to the multiple events from the primary display and the secondary display.

14. The communication device of claim 9 , wherein if multiple events are pending, the display manager presents, upon the secondary display, an indication that multiple events are pending.

15. The communication device of claim 14 , wherein the display manager presents, upon the primary display, a list of the plurality of events.

16. The communication device of claim 9 , wherein the display manager, responsive to receiving the event from the application, selects a different application within the communication device that is associated with the event and automatically launches the different application.

17. The communication device of claim 9 , wherein the display manager, responsive to receiving the event from the application, first determines whether the communication device is in an emergency mode and, if so, instructs the application that multiple events are pending such that the application does not write to either the primary display or the secondary display.

18. A machine readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections for managing usage of a plurality of displays within a communication device, the machine readable storage comprising:

code defining a display manager that, responsive to receiving an event from an application, determines whether a single event or multiple events are pending;

wherein, when a single event is pending, the display manager instructs the application to write data corresponding to the received event to a primary display of the communication device without the display manager writing data to the primary display, and the display manager writes event data corresponding to the received event to a secondary display without the application writing data to the secondary display; and

wherein, when multiple events are pending, the display manager instructs the application not to write data to the primary display, and the display manager writes data corresponding to the plurality of events to the primary display and the secondary display without involvement of the application.

19. The machine readable storage of claim 18 , wherein:

responsive to receiving the event from the application, the display manager first determines whether the communication device is in an emergency mode; and

the display manager instructs the application that multiple events are pending such that the application does not write to either the primary display or the secondary display if the communication device is in the emergency mode.