Best way to send messages to java server

[4Paul4]

I am quite new to handset development. I have setup a java application on a server, connecting to a mysql database.
This java application reads and writes messages to the database.
I now need to develop an android app to connect to this java server and get/send messages to it.

I was thinking of using a socket connection but was wondering if there is a better way, considering I want to minimize battery drain, data usage, etc.

Any suggestions please?

Cheers

[keirawatson]

By using Java Mail simple

[TERRANZ]

If you are want to use binary protocol, you can use, for example, apache mina + google protobuf on server side, and protobuf on android side. Or you can use json/xml/any other text protocol