Abstract: A method, computer program product, and apparatus for invoking web services on handheld or mobile devices is disclosed. In one embodiment, Mobile Data Service is used to push a SOAP envelope to a handheld device in the form of a message. In another embodiment, a requesting application server generates a key in addition to the SOAP envelope for the request. The handheld device is sent a message via Short Message Service (SMS) containing the key, and the mobile device uses the key to retrieve or “pull” the SOAP envelope for the request. In yet another embodiment, SOAP envelopes are transmitted as raw data to a handheld device on a particular designated TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) port. In this case, the handheld device recognizes that it has received a SOAP envelope by virtue of the fact that the data was received on the designated port.