Patent ID: 7330713

Claim:
A handportable cellular telephone adapted to receive incoming messages, and comprising a processor coupled to a memory and configured to: store a first user-defined list comprising potential senders of messages and an entry for unidentified senders of messages; upon receipt of an incoming non-call message, determine as appropriate to the non-call message an identity of a sender of the incoming non-call message or that the non-call message is from an unidentified sender; for the case where the identity of the sender is determined, look up the sender in the first list, and: if the sender appears in the first list: process the non-call message according to a first predetermined procedure; if the sender does not appear in the first list; process the non-call message according to a second predetermined procedure; and for the case where it is determine that the sender is unidentified: process the non-call message according to the first predetermined procedure; wherein said first user-defined list is derived from a directory stored on said handportable cellular phone and wherein said user-defined list is separate from said directory; wherein the second predetermined procedure comprises discarding the message without having made it available to a user of the telephone and indicating to the user of the telephone that the message has been discarded; and wherein the message is processed with reference to a spam filter that enables the user to allow messages from sources previously regard as spam data sources.