Apple MobileMe IPhone Flop
The memo was posted online at Ars Technica on August 5th and reinforces what iPhone and computer users of the new Apple service have been clamoring about since it launched; MobileMe just isn't ready for primetime.
MobileMe was introduced as an update to the old .Mac web portal at the 2008 Apple Developers Conference in June under much fanfare. The MobileMe service was touted as a companion for the updated iPhone 3G with Exchange "push" features that would supply home users with many of the same advantages found on corporate Exchange servers.
MobileMe Has Been Mobile-Missfire for Apple.
From day one MobileMe was plagued with issues. For $99.00 a year users were offered features including sync services for their email, contacts, and calendar across their iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, and PC devices. Instead the service was plagued with bugs from day one. MobileMe was frequently unavailable and synchronization was a crapshoot. Apple apologized for the snags and gave MobileMe subscribers a free 30-day extension.
The Nitty Gritty Steve Jobs MobileMe Memo.
In the memo from Jobs' the Apple CEO admits that MobileMe was not up to Apple standards and that the application clearly needed more time and testing. Jobs' goes on to imply that Apple might have bitten off more than it could chew with the simultaneous MobileMe/iPhone 3G launch, that it "was a mistake to launch MobileMe at the same time as iPhone 3G, iPhone 2.0 software and the App Store. We all had more than enough to do, and MobileMe could have been delayed without consequence."
Why MobileMe if You Can Get It for Free?
Many of the .Mac features, originally a free service called "iTools," introduced at the 2000 Macworld Expo, could be found on the Internet for much less than the Apple price tag of $99.00. Free services such as Gmail, Flickr, Box.net and Google CalDav syncing offered many of the same features available with .Mac, albeit without the tight integration and ease of use .Mac brought to the table.
If Apple wanted to grow their .Mac subscriber base, they had to offer new features to the service and give users a compelling reason to renew and to woo new customers over to the Apple .Mac fold. The Exchange features offered with MobileMe in tandem with the insanely popular iPhone seemed like a home run when the service was introduced at the Apple Developers Conference. Unfortunately the MobileMe service and bug issues that Apple experienced bred a user backlash Apple is not used to experiencing from its fervent fan-base. The MobileMe bite so far has proved to be a bitter pill for both Apple and MobileMe users.
Jacqui Cheng: Ars Technica "Steve Jobs on MobileMe: the full e-mail"
Published by John Ford
John is a Florida native with a background in Broadcasting, Print & New Media. An expert in Broadcast Talent & Creative Services with stints at ABC & as VP/New Media at Sabo Media. A respected writer for Par... View profile
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4 Comments
Post a CommentHave you even USED it???
It's one of the most amazing web apps I know of.
Flop? Good grief, man. You can criticize the rough start, but spare me the histrionics.
A very wobbly start, but not a flop; it's working OK now, and delivers a valuable service that Mac & iPhone users haven't had before. Price is comparable or a little less than hosted Exchange with push email; the fact that the old .Mac service was weak for the price is old news irrelevant to MobileMe. And the price is downright cheap with the family pack. It's allowed me to bring my Powerbook 12" back into use, and even to do my email and other admin on anyone's machine, knowing everything will be immediately synced on my iPhone and Macs.
Good question KM. Who knows how Apple will handle it. My guess is that they will either extend the year "contract" out an extra month if you have not already been billed. I was an early adopter of .Mac. Having decided to sign up for it with what I believed was a bait and switch from the free iTools in the beginning. I kept .Mac for 2 years.... or was it 3. I don't remember. The only real perk of .Mac for me was the email and the sync between my powerbook, cellphone and desktop. I had my own hosting so much of the other 'advantages' were kind of pointless. I just couldn't see paying a hundred bucks a year for an email. I dropped it. Never looked back. Just not a good value imho.
Many good points, but am I the only immobileMe user wondering when his one-month service extension will actually appear on his account?