AppleInsider Staff
MobileMe, which replaces the company's ailing .Mac service, also provides a suite of rich Web 2.0 applications that deliver a desktop-like experience through any modern browser, including Mail, Contacts and Calendar. A Gallery for viewing and sharing photos, as well as an iDisk app for storing and exchanging documents online, are also included.
"Think of MobileMe as 'Exchange for the rest of us,'" said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. "Now users who are not part of an enterprise that runs Exchange can get the same push email, push calendars and push contacts that the big guys get."
With a MobileMe email account, all folders, messages and status indicators look identical whether checking email on iPhone, iPod touch, a Mac or a PC. New email messages are pushed instantly to iPhone over the cellular network or Wi-Fi, removing the need to manually check email and wait for downloads. Push also keeps contacts and calendars continuously up-to-date so changes made on one device are automatically pushed up to the cloud and down to other devices.
Push works with the native applications on iPhone and iPod touch, Microsoft Outlook for the PC, and Mac OS X applications, Mail, Address Book and iCal, as well as the MobileMe web application suite.
MobileMe web applications are 100 percent ad-free and provide a desktop-like experience that allows users to drag and drop, click and drag, and even use keyboard shortcuts, all in a unified interface. Users can even switch between applications with a single click and use the Gallery web app to share photos in high quality.
MobileMe's Mail Web Interface.
MobileMe's Contact Web Interface.
MobileMe's Calendar Web Interface.
MobileMe's Gallery Web Interface.
MobileMe's iDisk Web Interface.
Using any browser, the new Gallery web application allows users to upload, rearrange, rotate and title photos; post photos directly from an iPhone; allow visitors to download print quality images; and contribute photos to an album.
Meanwhile, MobileMe iDisk lets users store and manage files online with drag and drop filing. The iDisk web application also makes it easy to share documents too large to email by automatically sending an email with a link for downloading the file.
MobileMe includes 20GB of online storage that can be used for email, contacts, calendar, photos, movies and documents. The service is set to launch on July 11 alongside iPhone 3G, with a yearly subscription fee of $99 for individuals and $149 for a Family Pack. The Family Pack includes one master account with 20GB of storage and four Family Member accounts with 5GB of storage each. MobileMe subscribers can purchase an additional 20GB of storage for $49 or 40GB of storage for $99 annually.
Users who wish to try out the service with no obligation can sign up for a free 60-day MobileMe trial. Current .Mac members will be automatically upgraded to MobileMe accounts.
Using an iPhone or iPod touch with MobileMe requires iPhone 2.0 software and the soon-to-be-released iTunes 7.7 or later. For use with a Mac, MobileMe requires Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.11 or the latest version of Mac OS X Leopard. For a PC, MobileMe requires Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (SP2), and Microsoft Outlook 2003 or later is recommended.
MobileMe is accessible on the web via Safari 3, Internet Explorer 7, and Firefox 2 or later. Internet access requires a compatible ISP; fees may apply. Broadband Internet connection recommended. Some features require Mac OS X Leopard and iLife '08.
A Guided Tour of the MobileMe service is available at me.com.
Wesley Hilliard
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
57 Comments
If it works like advertised I'll keep my .Mac as Mobile Me. If not I'm done after this year.
I'll be passing on MobileMe. Even the name is dumb, considering it came from Apple I expected more.
I think they did a tremendous job of integrating iPhoto, iCal and other functionality into a web-based cluster of apps. Pretty amazing.
It appears that the new web-based applications would finally address the serious deficiencies in .Mac's currect offerings...with one major caveat. If it's going to require Safari 3, Firefox 2, or IE 7, the entire .Mac/MobileMe online services become completely useless to me! My major use of the online clients is from work where IE 6 is the only browser available (can't install anything else).
If IE 7 is required, I'll lose access. Today, photo Galleries "recommend" but don't require newer web browsers. You just don't have as nice an interface using IE 6. The rest of .Mac is accessible from IE6. So will I get a downgraded experience on IE 6, like today's Gallaries, or no access at all?
Apple needs to keep in mind that when you are accessing your data from other computers (the whole point of the online apps!), you don't always have control over which web browser is available (work, internet cafe's, friend's house, etc).
Considering I just signed up for .Mac a few weeks ago (and online contacts never worked right), I'll be pretty peeved if come July I lose access to the online services.
Mobile me is a lame name. I much prefer .mac. As for the service it provides, it may prove useful for iphone users but others may find more utility in the free gmail accounts. It has potential if apple dropped the price.