This document provides an overview of Google Cloud Messaging (GCM), a service that allows servers to send messages to Android applications. It discusses how GCM works and its advantages over previous notification methods like C2DM and polling. GCM uses an existing connection to Google services to deliver lightweight messages from application servers to Android devices even if the application is not active. This reduces network usage and improves battery life compared to periodic polling. The document outlines the three components of GCM - the mobile device, application server, and GCM servers - and how a message is sent from the server and delivered by GCM to the target application.