Low power high frequency social updates for mobile devices

1. A method comprising:

by a mobile device, determining a notification mode based on the mobile device's user interface mode, wherein the user interface mode is based on interactions between a user and the mobile device, and the notification mode is a sleep notification mode, a napping notification mode, or a trickle notification mode;

by the mobile device, determining a radio network state based on the notification mode;

by the mobile device, transmitting to a cellular base station a request for the radio network state, the request causing the cellular base station to transition a connection between the mobile device and the cellular base station to the radio network state, wherein the radio network state comprises an IDLE connected mode when the notification mode comprises the sleep notification mode; and

by the mobile device, transmitting to one or more computing devices a message comprising the notification mode, the message causing the one or more computing devices to transmit one or more messages to the mobile device based on the notification mode.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the notification mode comprises the trickle notification mode when the user interface mode indicates that the user is actively interacting with the mobile device.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the message comprising the trickle notification mode causes the one or more computing devices to transmit the one or more messages when a new outgoing message is available.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the user is actively interacting with the mobile device when the user is interacting with one or more applications running on the mobile device.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the notification mode comprises the napping notification mode when the user interface mode indicates that the user is not actively interacting with the mobile device while the mobile device is near the user or in motion.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the message comprising the napping notification mode causes the one or more computing devices to transmit the one or more messages to the mobile device at a pre-determined time interval.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the user is not actively interacting with the mobile device when no application running on the mobile device receives user input within a pre-determined time duration.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the user is not interacting with the mobile device when the mobile device's display is in a lower-power or lower-usage state.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the notification mode comprises the sleep notification mode when the user interface mode indicates that the user is not actively interacting with the mobile device while the mobile device is stationary for a pre-determined time duration.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the message comprising the sleep notification mode causes the one or more computing devices to transmit the one or more messages as the user requests.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining a notification mode is further based on the mobile device's current radio network state.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the notification mode comprises the sleep notification mode when a signal strength of the current radio network connection is low.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining a notification mode is further based on a power state of the mobile device.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the notification mode comprises the napping notification mode when a battery of the mobile device is close to fully charged.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the radio network state comprises a Paging Channel (PCH) connected mode when the notification mode comprises the napping notification mode.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the radio network state comprises a Forward Access Channel (FACH) connected mode when the notification mode comprises the trickle notification mode.

17. A system comprising: one or more processors; and a memory coupled to the processors comprising instructions executable by the processors, the processors being operable when executing the instructions to:

determine a notification mode based on the mobile device's user interface mode, wherein the user interface mode is based on interactions between a user and the mobile device, and the notification mode is a sleep notification mode, a napping notification mode, or a trickle notification mode;

determine a radio network state based on the notification mode;

transmit to a cellular base station a request for the radio network state, the request causing the cellular base station to transition a connection between the mobile device and the cellular base station to the radio network state, wherein the radio network state comprises an IDLE connected mode when the notification mode comprises the sleep notification mode; and

transmit to one or more computing devices a message comprising the notification mode, the message causing the one or more computing devices to transmit one or more messages to the mobile device based on the notification mode.

18. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software that is operable when executed to:

determine a notification mode based on the mobile device's user interface mode, wherein the user interface mode is based on interactions between a user and the mobile device, and the notification mode is a sleep notification mode, a napping notification mode, or a trickle notification mode;

determine a radio network state based on the notification mode;

transmit to a cellular base station a request for the radio network state, the request causing the cellular base station to transition a connection between the mobile device and the cellular base station to the radio network state, wherein the radio network state comprises an IDLE connected mode when the notification mode comprises the sleep notification mode; and

transmit to one or more computing devices a message comprising the notification mode, the message causing the one or more computing devices to transmit one or more messages to the mobile device based on the notification mode.