MobileMe Thoughts...


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I'm in my trial period that I was drawn to because of my iPhone. My first thought that has just been lingering is "$99/year is too steep a cost for an online PIM with some online storage capabilities." What do you guys think of it?

Pros.

* Really slick interface and design. Look-and-feel like a Mac application. I especially like the Calendar and Contacts interface.

* Everything is push to the iPhone

* Email aliases

* 20GB of online storage is a healthy amount

* Utility to "find my iPhone" may turn out to come in handy and make the whole service worthwhile (although, it seems like this feature is really "tacked on" as a buying point for iPhone users. This feature should be available independent of MobileMe IMHO).

Cons.

* Cost is high.

* @me.com is a silly domain name. I'm not sure I would use the email as much because the domain name sounds so silly and also I do not want to be bound to an email address that costs $99 a year. I currently have 5 emails, 2 of which are primary and the other 3 are for junk.

* No IMAP support. There should be true support for multiple email accounts with a variety of configuration options. If it had this feature I think the cost would be justified.

* No iDisk support on iPhone w/o 3rd party apps. I really wish that Apple would make an iDisk app for the iPhone.

* Domain web hosting is kind-of-supported. I don't think domain email is supported, which would be nice.

* Web based file manager lacks preview features. Photo previews, Music play buttons, PDF and .DOC viewing are all things that would be nice.

* If drag-and-drop were supported in the web based file manager I'd be sold.

Surely there is a way to mount the iDisk in Windows XP. My searching comes up with .mac solutions, but no MobileMe solutions. Isn't it just a WebDAV thing?

So there are my thoughts...

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1. I got my renewal from eBay for less than $45, not so bad. I agree $99 is pushing it.

2. The domain name complaint is silly IMHO, no worse than gmail or hotmail, who are we trying to impress.

3. Formal iDisk support for the iPhone is coming, last I heard any minute, but I would bet late fall at this point.

4. I highly recomend Transmit is you do a lot of transfering to your iDisk, and there are some free options as well. Drag-n-drop works, just not reliably (although I read Snow Leopard resolves much of this, hope it's true).

5. .Mac and mobileme are the same thing, if one works they all should.

Full disclosure, I'm a Mac user and I just noticed your XP reference, yes, it might be more questionable for you.

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1. I got my renewal from eBay for less than $45, not so bad. I agree $99 is pushing it.

2. The domain name complaint is silly IMHO, no worse than gmail or hotmail, who are we trying to impress.

3. Formal iDisk support for the iPhone is coming, last I heard any minute, but I would bet late fall at this point.

4. I highly recomend Transmit is you do a lot of transfering to your iDisk, and there are some free options as well. Drag-n-drop works, just not reliably (although I read Snow Leopard resolves much of this, hope it's true).

5. .Mac and mobileme are the same thing, if one works they all should.

Full disclosure, I'm a Mac user and I just noticed your XP reference, yes, it might be more questionable for you.

I like the eBay option and think I will probably go that route if I'm still interested towards the end of my trial. I see a few "MobileMe" 1-year subscriptions there and I'm a little confused on how the seller is able to sell Apple's service on eBay and be profitable. Also, what exactly is shipped to you? Is MobileMe sold is stores or something? I'm assuming there is just some access purchase code type thing that comes in a box and I can enter somewhere on the me.com website.

Thanks for the tip! The difference is cost makes it actually worthwhile to get the service. Hopefully that iDisk iPhone app will come out sooner rather than later.

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^ I guess it's just a code that comes in a box. When I bought my subscription from eBay, the seller just emailed the code to me.

Anyway, I think it's a little weak for Windows users, unless you use Outlook. If not, you're stuck with the web interface, which I find to be rather sluggish. iPhone/iPod touch syncing and everything is really nice, but it's nothing you can't do (for free) with Google's services.

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As a Mac user, I find it worth the price, but I'm not so sure about that if you're using Windows XP exclusively. It was really handy to be able to add photos to my online album when I was on vacation with my fiance. Could add a bunch in a few seconds through iPhoto from my laptop at the hotel, or add a few here and there from anywhere with my iPhone.

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* @me.com is a silly domain name. I'm not sure I would use the email as much because the domain name sounds so silly and also I do not want to be bound to an email address that costs $99 a year. I currently have 5 emails, 2 of which are primary and the other 3 are for junk.

Why not buy example.com (whatever it is you'd rather have) and set it to forward all inbound mail to your .mac account?

* No IMAP support. There should be true support for multiple email accounts with a variety of configuration options. If it had this feature I think the cost would be justified.

I don't understand what you mean. Even back when it was iTools (free with every mac!) the mail service was IMAP.

* No iDisk support on iPhone w/o 3rd party apps. I really wish that Apple would make an iDisk app for the iPhone.

it's coming.

Surely there is a way to mount the iDisk in Windows XP. My searching comes up with .mac solutions, but no MobileMe solutions. Isn't it just a WebDAV thing?

Tools were included on the install media way back when Apple sold box copies of .Mac.

See also: iDisk Utility. Nothing has changed about idisk in nearly a decade. It's just as bad/good as it's always been.

Is MobileMe sold is stores or something?

Yes, it ships in a tiny box with a code and a CD, maybe a small manual - you can enter a code and it adds 1 year of service to your account if you already have one. Popular subscription video games (like world of warcraft) have a similar model. It allows people who can't or won't use a credit card to purchase the service. It allows you to give it as a gift to somebody more easily than "just send me the bill and I'll pay it", and it makes it easier for retailers to sell the subscription.

Edited by evn.
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I like the eBay option and think I will probably go that route if I'm still interested towards the end of my trial. I see a few "MobileMe" 1-year subscriptions there and I'm a little confused on how the seller is able to sell Apple's service on eBay and be profitable. Also, what exactly is shipped to you? Is MobileMe sold is stores or something? I'm assuming there is just some access purchase code type thing that comes in a box and I can enter somewhere on the me.com website.

Thanks for the tip! The difference is cost makes it actually worthwhile to get the service. Hopefully that iDisk iPhone app will come out sooner rather than later.

Yea, it's just a code in the box. I actually had the guy email me the code and save the hassle of shipping, but obvioulsy you only want to do that with a well regarded seller. I also buy Apple Care from eBay, at substantial savings, some people buy the stuff and forget to activate it, some are Apple authorized service providers dumping surplus, etc.. But overall it's been a good experience for me.

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I personally find the service invaluable, but that, I believe, is because I'm both a Mac and iPhone user; the integration is really great, but for an XP user, I'd not recommend it myself.

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I do have an old Mac Mini, but I don't like using it because it is slow. I've dabbed with some hackintosh setup on my PC, but use Windows 7 RC primarily at home and Windows XP at work.

@shihchiun - The web interface is actually what I like about it. The email web interface is very clean even compared to Gmail... although I haven't had much use of it yet to really say. I have outlook at home, but as much as I use it at work I don't really "feel" like using it at home. But I'll play with the sync. options.

@evn - I'm talking about IMAP support in the actuall web based email program. Not does @me.com have IMAP support for my own 3rd party email app, but does it have IMAP support to bring in my gmail or something?

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^ You can access outside accounts via POP, not too sure about IMAP. I think you can only access one account, though.

You are correct - you can bring in POP accounts but not IMAP.

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Man, forget about that, go to ebay and you can buy it as low as $17 dollars for one year.

All of the ones I've seen that cheep seem to be for some 5GB nerfed version. I definitely want 20GB version. Am I missing something? For everything advertised as "20GB full 1-year subscription' the "OLD VERSION" on Amazon looks like the cheapest. I also think that I trust Amazon more. Some of the comments suggest that it works just as well as the $99 one.

Maybe the "MobileMe Sync Utility" disc is included and its just an old install disc....?

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Connecting via WebDAV in Windows 7 RC doesn't seem to be working. It isn't accepting my credentials for some reason. Could the feature not be supported because I'm still on trial?

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