Apparatuses and methods for providing enhanced contact list information for mobile stations including mobile telephones

A mobile station for use in a telecommunications network, the mobile station comprising one or more processors and one or more memories including computer program code, the one or more memories and the computer program code being configured, with the one or more processors, to cause the mobile station to perform at least the following:

• storing in the one or more memories contact list information, wherein the contact list information comprises, for each listed contact, a name and at least one type of message service identifier for communicating with the listed contact, a listing of the types of messages the contact can receive, wherein the mobile station includes a display for displaying the contact list information, and wherein the contact list includes at least one graphical image corresponding to a message service and indicating a type of message that can be sent to a contact on the contact list using the message service, wherein the graphical image changes in appearance to indicate a status of the contact on the message service, the status specifying whether or not the contact on the contact list is able to receive the type of message indicated by the graphical image;
• accessing the contact list information from the memory;
• and
• displaying the contact list.

A non-transitory computer readable memory medium for storing computer program instructions which, when executed, perform operations for controlling a contact list in a mobile station having a display, the operations comprising:

• storing in the computer readable memory medium contact list information, wherein the contact list information comprises, for each listed contact, a name and at least one type of message service identifier for communicating with the listed contact, a listing of the types of messages the contact can receive, wherein the mobile station includes a display for displaying the contact list information, and wherein the contact list includes at least one graphical image corresponding to a message service and indicating a type of message that can be sent to a contact on the contact list using the message service, wherein the graphical image changes in appearance to indicate a status of the contact on the message service, the status specifying whether or not the contact on the contact list is able to receive the type of message indicated by the graphical image;
• receiving a request to display the contact list on the display of the mobile station;
• accessing the contact list information from the memory;
• displaying the contact list, wherein the contact list information comprises at least names of contacts and information concerning types of messages each contact on the contact list can receive;
• and
• displaying the contact list information on the display of the mobile station, where the contact list is organized by names of the contacts, and wherein, for each contact, the types of messages the contact can receive are displayed proximate to the contact name.