Patent ID: 8180900

Claim:
A method of distributing information from a host service in communication with a computer network to a mobile station in communication with a wireless network, comprising: determining at the host service that a network resource of the wireless network is not currently associated with the mobile station; transmitting, from the host service to the mobile station via an out-of-band channel, a resource request message that identifies a pending delivery of a data item for display by the mobile station and includes an instruction for the mobile station to acquire the network resource to enable delivery of the data item over the wireless network, the resource request message including a portion of the data item for display as a preview on the mobile station for use by a user of the mobile station in making a determination to receive a complete version of the data item from the host service; receiving, from the mobile station, a request for delivery of the data item; and in response to the request, the host service transmitting the data item to the mobile station using the network resource; wherein information contained in the resource request message is displayed on the mobile station along with a user interface operable to provide an option regarding whether the mobile station should acquire the network resource as instructed in the resource request message.