Patent ID: 7299260

Claim:
An e-mail reception apparatus connected to a server via a network, the e-mail reception apparatus comprising: a memory configured to store e-mail retrieved from the server, the e-mail comprising a header and a body; a controller configured to access the server to determine whether incoming e-mail, to be retrieved by the e-mail reception apparatus, is present in the server and, when it is determined that the incoming e-mail is present in the server, to determine whether or not a usage status of the memory meets a predetermined value; and an e-mail receiver configured to retrieve the e-mail from the server when the controller determines that the usage status meets the predetermined value; wherein, when the controller determines that the usage status does not meet the predetermined value, the controller accesses the server after a predetermined time period to determine whether the incoming e-mail is present in the server, and retrieves no part of the e-mail, comprising the header and the body, from the server.