Patent ID: 7990554

Claim:
An imaging apparatus comprising: an imaging unit; a recording and reproducing unit configured to record image data obtained by the imaging unit in a recording medium and to reproduce the image data from the recording medium; a communication unit configured to communicate by radio communications; a controller configured to find one or more image printing service providers by operating the communication unit; a display unit configured to display information of the one or more image printing service providers found by operating the communications unit; and a selection unit configured to be employed in selecting one image printing service provider of the one or more image printing service providers found by operating the communications unit among the information displayed by the display unit, wherein the controller controls the communication unit to transmit image data recorded in the recording medium to the image printing service provider selected by the selection unit to cause the image data recorded in the recording medium to be printed; an acquisition unit configured to acquire information of an estimated delivery time of printed matter based on the image data generated by the image printing service provider selected by the selection unit; a detection unit configured to detect that the image printing service provider selected by the selection unit has finished generating the printed matter after the communication unit has transmitted the image data to the image printing service provider selected by the selection unit; and a notification unit, wherein if the detection unit detects that the image printing service provider selected by the selection unit has finished generating the printed matter before the estimated delivery time acquired by the acquisition unit, the controller controls the notification unit to notify a user that the printed matter can be delivered, wherein the controller controls the communication unit to transmit an inquiry inquiring whether the image printing service provider has finished generating the printed matter to the image printing service provider selected by the selection unit before the estimated delivery time, and the detecting unit detects that the image printing service provider has finished generating the printed matter based on a response from the image printing service provider selected by the selection unit, and wherein the controller controls the communication unit to automatically transmit the inquiry to the image printing service provider selected by the selection unit again after a predetermined period if the detection unit does not detect that the image printing service provider has finished generating the printed matter based on the response.