Patent ID: 8249000

Claim:
A method for prioritizing and controlling the delivery of messages to a mobile client device, the method comprising the steps of: a computer receiving, from a mobile client device, at least one characteristic of a network to which the mobile client device is currently connected; the computer determining one or more preferences of the mobile client device for receiving messages, the one or preferences based, at least in part, on the at least one characteristic of the network to which the mobile client device is currently connected; the computer receiving a message directed to the mobile client device from a server computer; the computer analyzing the message for at least one characteristic of the message; the computer determining whether to send the message to the mobile client device based on a comparison of the at least one characteristic of the message with the one or more preferences of the mobile client device for receiving; responsive to determining not to send the message to the mobile client device, the computer placing the message into a queue for subsequent delivery to the mobile client device; the computer receiving a subsequent message for delivery to the mobile client device; the computer determining that the subsequent message has a higher priority than the message in the queue based on a comparison of at least one characteristic of the subsequent message to the one or more preferences; the computer placing the subsequent message into the queue to be delivered prior to the message; and the computer discarding the message so that the message is not delivered after delivery of the subsequent message; wherein the at least one characteristic of the network is selected from the group consisting of: a type of the network, bandwidth costs associated with the network, connectivity of the network, and a network pricing structure.