title: Best way to implement a GMail like notifier in Android
body: <p>I'm looking to make a notifier type app for Android. Just sits in the background and performs a lookup via Internet every so often, and notifies of important incoming data.</p>
  
  <p>Whats the best way to do something like this? How can I make it run only at selected intervals, so as to be battery friendly?</p>
  
  <p>The Gmail notifications in Android seem to check the email as soon as I connect to the Internet. Is there a way for my code to do the same?</p>
  
  <p>Thanks!</p>