Patent ID: 8370860

Claim:
An electronic device having complementary dual displays, the electronic device comprising: a native display device comprising: a refresh-based high frame rate display, a first display controller configured to output video signals to the refresh-based high frame rate display, a first processing unit coupled to the first display controller, the first processing unit configured to generate a video signal based on instructions from an application being executed by the first processing unit responsive to the application processing a user input, and a non-native API configured to forward the video signal, wherein the non-native API includes a plurality of communication mechanisms, where one or more of the plurality of communication mechanisms are selected from a group consisting of: a function that initializes a connection to use a non-native display driver of one or more external display devices, a function that identifies display configuration parameters of the one or more external display devices, a function that allocates a window for display on the one or more external display devices, a function that moves a window for display between the native display device and the one or more external display devices, a function that closes a window displayed on the one or more external display devices, a function that synchronizes content from windows displayed on the one or more external display devices, a function that uses the non-native display driver to update a window displayed on the one or more external display devices, a function that refreshes the one or more external display devices, a callback that processes key events on the one or more external display devices, a function that prints an image displayed on the native display device to the one or more external display devices, and a callback that informs the application to update a window displayed on the one or more external display devices responsive to an orientation change of the one or more external display devices, the one or more external display devices, each external display device comprising: a bistable, low frame rate non-native display, a second processing unit, a second display controller configured to receive the video signal that has been processed by the non-native API and configured to output the received video signal on the bistable, low frame rate display.