Patent ID: 7933963

Claim:
A reception notification control method for making a reception notification, via a network apparatus, to reception terminals from an information server that stores information addressed to each of the reception terminals, the method comprising: storing, in the information server, information addressed to an arbitrary reception terminal; classifying the information addressed to each of the reception terminals, arriving at the information server, into instant delivery information which requires instant delivery and non-instant delivery information which does not require instant delivery, based on identification information which is added to the information addressed to each of the reception terminals at a distribution source of said information, when storing said information in the information server; and making a reception notification of the non-instant delivery information addressed to said arbitrary reception terminal from the information server, via the network apparatus, to the arbitrary reception terminal, the reception notification being triggered by a HTTP connection request transmitted from the arbitrary reception terminal and received via the network apparatus for establishing a HTTP packet link therebetween to receive a service unrelated to e-mail retrieval, the reception notification of the information server being provided via the established HTTP packet link between the arbitrary reception terminal and the network apparatus thereby avoiding a further HTTP packet link establishment to the information server for receiving the reception notification; wherein the reception notification is provided together with the unrelated service.