Tag Archives | Mobile Me

What Was Missing: MobileMe

Posted by Ed Oswald on March 2, 2011 at 11:25 am

The iPad event has just ended in San Francisco, and what may be the biggest surprise of the presentation is what didn’t show up at Yerba Buena: MobileMe. After Apple pulled the product codes, and also removed the product from its shelves, most tech pundits (including myself) thought there was sure to be major news about Apple’s cloud-based service.

Nope. Nothing. Not even a mention from anyone on stage. So where does this leave MobileMe? Who knows. Here’s thought though: Cupertino may not have anything major to announce, thus any change- including the much rumored switch to a free service — may come without fanfare.

No one said that Apple needed to make a big production out of every move it makes. And really in the end, is it that important? Even so, its just curious that the company wouldn’t make a mention of it. Maybe they’re waiting for the iPhone 5 announcement to make the big splash, since MobileMe really is of more use to the smartphone user than tablet types.

I guess we’ll find out.

3 comments

Mobile Me Mail Makeover

Posted by Harry McCracken on June 18, 2010 at 5:35 am

Totally Web-based applications don’t exactly spring to mind when you think about Apple. But that’s true in part because of its shockingly archaic approach to them: It wants you to–gasp!–pay $99 a year for Mobile Me, a bundle of mail, calendaring, photo sharing, storage, and “Find My iPhone.” Except for Find My iPhone, all of these services have solid free competitors; I’ve never been sure why anyone would pay Apple for something as readily available as e-mail.

Except…Apple has released a nice new version of Mobile Me Mail. Like its predecessors it has a nicely Apple-esque user interface. But it’s reasonably powerful, too, with features such as rules and the ability to handle external accounts. As before, it’s ad-free, which adds to the clutter-free feel. It feels like what Gmail might be if it were designed by Apple, and it’s worth checking out if you like slick Web apps. (Mobile Me offers a 60-day free trial.)

6 comments