Portable terminal suitable for displaying related electronic mail, method of displaying electronic mail and program for displaying electronic mail

A portable terminal comprising:

• an operation unit on which a user performs an entry operation;
• a display unit;
• a radio transmitting and receiving unit communicating through wireless communication;
• a storage unit having a mail region storing transmitted and received electronic mails;
• a mail processing unit performing processing for transmission or reception of an electronic mail through said radio transmitting and receiving unit, display of the transmitted or received electronic mail on said display unit, and storage of the transmitted or received electronic mail in said mail region;
• and
• a relating unit extracting one or more related electronic mails from said mail region based on a relating condition specified by an operation of a user to the electronic mail being displayed, and then displaying said one or more related electronic mails.

A portable terminal comprising:

• a mail region storing transmitted and received electronic mails;
• a mail processing unit performing processing for transmission, reception, and display of an electronic mail and storage of the electronic mail in said mail region;
• and
• a relating unit extracting one or more related electronic mails from said mail region based on a relating condition specified by an operation of a user to the electronic mail being displayed, and then displaying said one or more related electronic mails;
• wherein
• the electronic mail includes:
• address information of a transmitting destination or a receiving source;
• subject information comprising a subject;
• and
• date and time information comprising a date and a time of transmission or reception;
• said mail processing unit displays on a screen displaying the electronic mail information for selecting as a related mail an electronic mail having a same address or an electronic mail having a same subject as the electronic mail being displayed;
• and
• when a selecting operation is performed on said screen displaying the electronic mail, said relating unit obtains information on the related mail,
• when the same address has been specified as a condition, said relating unit extracts from said mail region electronic mails having the same address as the mail being displayed, and arranges the electronic mails in a chronological order, for display, and
• when the same subject has been specified as a condition, said relating unit extracts from said mail region electronic mails having the same subject as the mail being displayed, and arranges the electronic mails in the chronological order, for display.

A method of displaying electronic mails at a portable terminal, comprising the steps of:

• storing electronic mails transmitted from or received at a portable terminal in a mail region provided for said portable terminal, the electronic mails each including address information of a transmitting destination or a receiving source, subject information comprising a subject, and date and time information comprising a date and a time of transmitting or receiving each of the electronic mails;
• displaying on a same screen information for selecting as a related mail an electronic mail having a same address as an address of the electronic mail being displayed or an electronic mail having a same subject as an subject of the electronic mail being displayed, during display of the electronic mail;
• and
• obtaining information on the related mail when an selecting operation is performed on said screen displaying the electronic mail, extracting from said mail region electronic mails including the same address as an address of the electronic mail being displayed
• when the same address has been specified as a condition, and arranging the electronic mails in a chronological order, for display, and extracting from said mail region electronic mails having the same subject as the subject of the electronic mail being displayed when the same subject has been specified as a condition, and arranging the electronic mails in the chronological order, for display.

A program for causing a computer to execute the steps of:

• storing electronic mails transmitted to or received at a portable terminal in a mail region provided for said terminal portable the electronic mails each including address information of a transmitting destination or a receiving source, subject information comprising a subject, and date and time information comprising a date and a time of transmitting or receiving each of the electronic mails;
• displaying on a same screen information for selecting as a related mail an electronic mail having a same address or an electronic mail having a same subject as the electronic mail being displayed, during display of the electronic mail;
• and
• obtaining information on the related mail when a selecting operation is performed on said screen displaying the electronic mail, extracting from said mail region electronic mails including the same address as an address of the electronic mail being displayed when the same address has been specified as a condition, arranging the electronic mails in a chronological order, for display, and extracting from said mail region electronic mails having the same subject as the subject of the electronic mail being displayed when the same subject has been specified as a condition, and arranging the electronic mails in the chronological order, for display.