[tlug] (OT) Japanese cell-phone-mail-system

[Niels Kobschaetzki <niels.k@example.com>]

Hi!
I put this topic as off-topic because it has nothing to do with linux 
but usually on a list where people are who know computers quite good, 
usually are also people who know telephone-technology quite good...
So, now to my question:
I have a cell-phone from Vodafone (former J-Phone) and as many people in 
Japan I use mails quite often. Now to my problem:
When I'm at work I do not have any reception. Therefore I do not get any 
mails (how surprising). But when someone sent me a mail I get it usually 
something like 8 hours later (e.g. a mail was sent at 18:05 (I do not 
have any reception from ca. 17:45), I get it 02:00 or 03:00 in the 
morning (I have receeption again from 23:35 usually) and not nearly 
immediately when I have reception again.
But I have a function with which I can update my inbox but always it 
says me there is no message on the server.
Therefore: How they are doing it?
Usually you send a mail to the smtp-gate of your mail-provider, it goes 
through the net to the server of the mailprovider of the addresse and I 
would think that the cell-phone-mailprovider send immediately the 
message to you and if not reachable save it on the server and tries it 
later. But it seems that they aren't doing it this way.
In Germany we are usually the short-message-system (a by-product of GSM) 
and when I get reception again, even if I had no reception for a 
long-time (being on vacation in a foreign country for example) i get 
immediately all missed short messages (maybe not immediately but latest 
5 - 10 min after I get reception again).
Can anyone explain it to me?

Greetings

Niels