Method and apparatus for controlling an electronic device display for presenting information on said display

Abstract

A method and apparatus for presenting information is provided. In an embodiment, an electronic device with wireless telephony features is provided. The display of the device is divided into at least two regions. The first region is reserved for presenting status information about the device, including such information as battery life, signal strength, time and date, carrier information, etc. The second region is reserved for use by applications, such as a main menu application and an incoming telephone call application. When an incoming call arrives, the main menu application presented on the second region is replaced with the incoming call information, but the status information remains unchanged. As the status of the incoming call changes from unanswered to answered, only a portion of the second region is updated, as a remaining portion of the second region remains the same and indicates that an incoming call is being processed.

1 . A method of presenting information on an electronic device, having wireless telephony functionality and a display, comprising:
 presenting concurrently on the display at least first, second and third sets of information;   presenting in the first set of information, status information about the mobile communications device;   presenting in the second set of information, information about a telephone call; and   presenting in the third set of information, processing options of the telephone call when the telephone call is received, and presenting in call options when the telephone call is answered.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the status information comprises at least one of: battery life, signal strength, time, date, and carrier information. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second set of information comprises at least one of: a notification of an incoming telephone call, a telephone number of an incoming caller, a name of the incoming caller, an indication that the incoming caller is unknown, an indication that the telephone call is connected, and a call timer. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the processing options comprise at least one of: ignoring the telephone call, answering the telephone call, holding an existing telephone call. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the in call options are automatically displayed when the telephone call is answered. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the in call options comprise at least one of: ending the telephone call, a feature associated with the electronic device, and an application associated with the electronic device. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second and third sets of information are presented in regions laid out vertically above or below one another. 
     
     
         8 . An electronic device having wireless telephony functionality, comprising:
 a display;   at least one input device;   a processor, connected to the display and the input device, and configured to:
 present concurrently on the display at least first, second and third sets of information; 
 present in the first set of information, status information about the electronic device; 
 present in the second set of information, information about a telephone call; and 
 present in the third set of information, processing options of the telephone call when the telephone call is received, and presenting in call options when the telephone call is answered. 
   
     
     
         9 . The electronic device of  claim 8 , wherein the status information comprises at least one of: battery life, signal strength, time, date, and carrier information. 
     
     
         10 . The electronic device of  claim 8 , wherein the second set of information comprises at least one of: a notification of an incoming telephone call, a telephone number of an incoming caller, a name of the incoming caller, an indication that the incoming caller is unknown, an indication that the telephone call is connected, and a call timer. 
     
     
         11 . The electronic device of  claim 8 , wherein the processing options comprise at least one of: ignoring the telephone call, answering the telephone call, holding an existing telephone call. 
     
     
         12 . The electronic device of  claim 8 , wherein the in call options are automatically displayed when the telephone call is answered. 
     
     
         13 . The electronic device of  claim 8 , wherein the in call options comprise at least one of: ending the telephone call, a feature associated with the electronic device, and an application associated with the electronic device. 
     
     
         14 . The electronic device of  claim 8 , wherein the second and third sets of information are presented in regions laid out vertically above or below one another. 
     
     
         15 . The electronic device of  claim 8 , wherein the at least input device comprises at least one of a microphone, an exit key and a keyboard. 
     
     
         16 . A method of presenting information on an electronic device, having wireless telephony functionality and a display, comprising:
 presenting on the display a first set of information including status information about the electronic device and an application that does not process incoming telephone calls;   when an incoming telephone call is received, presenting concurrently on the display, the first set of information, a second set of information including information about the telephone call and a third set of information including processing options of the telephone call;   when the telephone call is answered, presenting in the third set of information, in call options; and   when the telephone call is finished, returning to presenting the first set of information and the application that does not process incoming telephone calls.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein when the incoming telephone call is received, the second set of information and the third set of information replaces the presenting of the application that does not process incoming telephone calls. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the application that does not process the incoming telephone calls is a main menu application presenting choices of applications that can be executed on the electronic device. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the status information comprises at least one of: battery life, signal strength, time, date, and carrier information. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the second set of information comprises at least one of: a notification of an incoming telephone call, a telephone number of an incoming caller, a name of the incoming caller, an indication that the incoming caller is unknown, an indication that the telephone call is connected, and a call timer. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the processing options comprise at least one of: ignoring the telephone call, answering the telephone call, holding an existing telephone call. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the in call options are automatically displayed when the telephone call is answered. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the in call options comprise at least one of: ending the telephone call, a feature associated with the electronic device, and an application associated with the electronic device. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the second and third sets of information are presented in regions laid out vertically above or below one another. 
     
     
         25 . An electronic device having wireless telephony functionality, comprising:
 a display;   at least one input device;   a processor, connected to the display and the input device, and configured to:
 present on the display a first set of information including status information about the electronic device and an application that does not process incoming telephone calls; 
 when an incoming telephone call is received, present concurrently on the display, the first set of information, a second set of information including information about the telephone call and a third set of information including processing options of the telephone call; 
 when the telephone call is answered, present in the third set of information, in call options; and 
 when the telephone call is finished, return to presenting the first set of information and the application that does not process incoming telephone calls. 
   
     
     
         26 . The electronic device of  claim 25 , wherein when the incoming telephone call is received, the second set of information and the third set of information replaces the presenting of the application that does not process incoming telephone calls. 
     
     
         27 . The electronic device of  claim 25 , wherein the application that does not process the incoming telephone calls is a main menu application presenting choices of applications that can be executed on the electronic device. 
     
     
         28 . The electronic device of  claim 25 , wherein the status information comprises at least one of: battery life, signal strength, time, date, and carrier information. 
     
     
         29 . The electronic device of  claim 25 , wherein the second set of information comprises at least one of: a notification of an incoming telephone call, a telephone number of an incoming caller, a name of the incoming caller, an indication that the incoming caller is unknown, an indication that the telephone call is connected, and a call timer. 
     
     
         30 . The electronic device of  claim 25 , wherein the processing options comprise at least one of: ignoring the telephone call, answering the telephone call, holding an existing telephone call.