Do you recommend mobileme?

[claygreenberg]

I'm trying to decide whether or not to sign up for MobileMe. I'm well aware of its features, but would love know if any of you would recommend for or against it based on your own experience. Thanks!

[impaler]

If you want relatively seamless sync with Macs and iPhone/iPhone touch, I'd recommend it. It does keep my two Macs and iPhone synced, and I have really gotten to love the push e-mail. It has some rough edges, but they're getting smoothed out. It's the best seamless solution out there. It also has been conceived very well. After a rough start in July, all the sync services have now worked 100% for me during the last few weeks. Check out this series for a good technical overview of the service as well...

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/08/08/inside_mobileme_secrets_of_the_cloud_and_mobile_pu sh.html

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/08/09/inside_mobileme_mac_and_pc_cloud_sync_and_mobile_p ush.html

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/08/11/inside_mobileme_apples_push_vs_exchange_blackberry _google.html

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/08/12/inside_mobileme_iphone_mail.html

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/08/13/inside_mobileme_iphones_exchange_alternative_for_c ontacts_and_calendar.html

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/08/15/inside_mobileme_web_3_and_web_client_server_apps.h tml

[macgirl]

I've been a .Mac/MobileMe subscriber for 5 years now, and I really liked it up until the MobileMe roll-out. I didn't lose any emails during the transition, but the web apps are not at all what was promised and I'm very disappointed with them. However, I do like the push email and the automatic syncing of my contacts and calendar between the "cloud" and my iPhone is great. I may be a little stuck since my primary email address is a .Mac one and I want to keep it, so I'll continue to renew my subscription barring anything terrible. iDisk has come in quite handy for me with work files I've needed to work on at home.

If you get it, just use it to the max - push email, contacts & calendar syncing, the iDisk space, everything - to make it worth the $99/year (though you'll get a better deal on Amazon or eBay to get it for around $69 - I never pay full retail for it anymore).

[Quake97]

I've also been a member for quite some time. Up until they rolled out MobileMe, I've thought it was a waste of money. The only reason I kept it was to support Apple and for the 10GB iDisk. It's gotten a lot better. I was part of the 1% that didn't have email for a week. Thankyfully, I use Gmail as my primary email. If I had it on MobileMe, I'd have left already. I really like the personal domain hosting and the slick interface. I also use it on my iPhone to separate my personal and work email/calendar/contacts.

Joe

[Swagger]

I would say go for it. MobileMe has been working great lately. As others have mentioned it did not start out well. Check out the link in my signature and you will see the web pages I built with MobileMe..I still use .Mac as my email address. So much more sexy than me.com. Mark

[Jeffois]

I echo what's been said. Syncing was wildly inconsistent at the outset, but has been working beautifully for quite some time now.

My wife and I sync contacts and calendars across our two Macs and two iPhones. It works perfectly now.

And I second what was said about buying it through Amazon. No reason to pay the full freight through Apple, when you can buy a perfectly legit license via Amazon for quite a bit less.

[claygreenberg]

I would be syncing an iPhone and a PC at home. Any experience with mobileme on a PC?

[jsntrenkler]

I love Mobile Me ... I have 5 Macs in my household ... It is nice to keep them all in sync, and I love the fact when I bookmark something it shows up on my iPhone and vice versa. I do have mobileme on a Windows XP laptop that I have and it works fantastic. The only trouble I had was with the formatting of my contacts in Outlook, other than that it was flawless.

[claygreenberg]

Were you able to resolve the problem with formatting contacts in Outlook? This would be pretty important to me.

[impaler]

Were you able to resolve the problem with formatting contacts in Outlook? This would be pretty important to me.

Look, sync with Outlook/Windows is not very good. It does work, but two-way syncing with Windows is troublesome. It works well with all Apple products, but I've had nothing but trouble with my Windows XP machine at work with Outlook 2007. I do one-way sync in the mornings to load up my calendar updates and it works pretty well. It's important for me to have updated calendar information at my work machine. However, I had to move everything off the Exchange server onto a .pst file (probably not an issue for you at home) in order for MobileMe to support it.

If you're doing sync with Windows XP/Outlook, I'd say just ease into it and take it easy, see if it's good enough for you, before diving in.

[Jeffois]

If you're unsure about using with Windows, you can always do the free trial. Just make sure you back your stuff up, so that if you hit some kind of self-destruct button, you don't lose your data, and give it a whirl. At least you don't have to risk the cash up front.

[kokogirl]

I echo what's been said. Syncing was wildly inconsistent at the outset, but has been working beautifully for quite some time now.

My wife and I sync contacts and calendars across our two Macs and two iPhones. It works perfectly now.

And I second what was said about buying it through Amazon. No reason to pay the full freight through Apple, when you can buy a perfectly legit license via Amazon for quite a bit less.

Do you and your wife have 2 or one mobile me account(s)?

[Jeffois]

Do you and your wife have 2 or one mobile me account(s)?

We have one MobilMe account. I think it's actually much more complicated, and maybe even impossible to share contacts and calendars with two accounts. Plus, this works just great.

The downside of one account is that it comes with only one e-mail account, but neither of us really uses the .mac (or .me) address, so that's not an issue for us, though it might be for some.

[seb481]

NO! I would not pay $100/year for an email address and some online storage that you can have for FREE somewhere else. As far of the syncing capability, yes it's nice, but come on, is it so vital for you to sync your contacts over the air. Certainly not worth $100/year...

[impaler]

NO! I would not pay $100/year for an email address and some online storage that you can have for FREE somewhere else. As far of the syncing capability, yes it's nice, but come on, is it so vital for you to sync your contacts over the air. Certainly not worth $100/year...

Haters love to suggest that there are free alternatives to everything...but most people want a turn-key solution...and although not perfect in any sense, MobileMe is more than e-mail and online storage. It may be I can get free e-mail from Google, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc., and some provide limited push capabilities---but none also provide push contacts, calendars, and sync of bookmarks and all my two Mac's settings for $99/year. Nor do any offer 20GB of storage for that amount. Not without a huge infrastructure in place to support, such as with Exchange/BlackBerry. None offer the single-dial solution MM does.

Read this: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/08/11/inside_mobileme_apples_push_vs_exchange_blackberry _google.html

[bigdog5142]

I love Mobile Me now that it's up and running well and I have a Mac. There's some issues that I've had syncing between my Mac, Windows laptop and my iPhone. The Mac & iPhone are great...but the calendars in Outlook for my Windows Vista Ultimate machine can get a bit...hairy...let's say. I've decided to stop syncing calendars on my Windows machine and just sync contacts. No problems there whatsoever and not a big issue for me as I use my Mac and iPhone most of the time. I do have to note, however, that before I had my Mac the Windows machine and my iPhone seemed to really like Mobile Me once all the "kinks" got worked out in the first weeks of MM. I signed up on release day! So...I've been through ALL of the junk and now it's running GREAT!

[oakie]

I've been a .Mac/MobileMe subscriber for 5 years now, and I really liked it up until the MobileMe roll-out. I didn't lose any emails during the transition, but the web apps are not at all what was promised and I'm very disappointed with them. However, I do like the push email and the automatic syncing of my contacts and calendar between the "cloud" and my iPhone is great. I may be a little stuck since my primary email address is a .Mac one and I want to keep it, so I'll continue to renew my subscription barring any terrible. iDisk has come in quite handy for me with work files I've needed to work on at home.

If you get it, just use it to the max - push email, contacts & calendar syncing, the iDisk space, everything - to make it worth the $99/year (though you'll get a better deal on Amazon or eBay to get it for around $69 - I never pay full retail for it anymore).

i know the software package wont work on a winblows machine, but can i order the discounted package and just use the included subscription to register on the mobileme.com site and enjoy a year of service for only $39-69?

i was just about to pull the trigger on the mobileme site for $99 but i'm glad i found your post first before i had done that.

[claygreenberg]

excellent question! I would love to know the answer, too.

[impaler]

I love Mobile Me now that it's up and running well and I have a Mac. There's some issues that I've had syncing between my Mac, Windows laptop and my iPhone. The Mac & iPhone are great...but the calendars in Outlook for my Windows Vista Ultimate machine can get a bit...hairy...let's say. I've decided to stop syncing calendars on my Windows machine and just sync contacts. No problems there whatsoever and not a big issue for me as I use my Mac and iPhone most of the time. I do have to note, however, that before I had my Mac the Windows machine and my iPhone seemed to really like Mobile Me once all the "kinks" got worked out in the first weeks of MM. I signed up on release day! So...I've been through ALL of the junk and now it's running GREAT!

With all the problems people have had, it's good to hear some good news to counterbalance the bad. I too have had issues with Outlook 2007 on XP Pro, but once I moved all the contacts and calendars off Exchange and onto a .pst file, I just do a one-way sync from the cloud to Outlook at the beginning of each day, and that way I have an updated Outlook calendar for that work day. The one-way works--two way doesn't have my confidence. But like you, all Apple products sync beautifully!

[macgirl]

i know the software package wont work on a winblows machine, but can i order the discounted package and just use the included subscription to register on the mobileme.com site and enjoy a year of service for only $39-69?

i was just about to pull the trigger on the mobileme site for $99 but i'm glad i found your post first before i had done that.

Actually, MobileMe will work with PC's as well. It's not software, per se - there's no disc in the box when you buy it, it's just the registration code. It will sync your data (on Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, and Windows Contacts) from your PC to the "cloud" and you can set up the push syncing with it on your iPhone. Here's Apple's page (http://www.apple.com/mobileme/features/pc.html) on how it works with PC's. I think this would be your best bet - once you're set up, you can update your contacts or calendar on your iPhone, PC, or through the .Me web apps and everything will get in sync automatically. It's a great set-up I'm sure you'll enjoy! :)

[oakie]

Actually, MobileMe will work with PC's as well. It's not software, per se - there's no disc in the box when you buy it, it's just the registration code. It will sync your data (on Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, and Windows Contacts) from your PC to the "cloud" and you can set up the push syncing with it on your iPhone. Here's Apple's page (http://www.apple.com/mobileme/features/pc.html) on how it works with PC's. I think this would be your best bet - once you're set up, you can update your contacts or calendar on your iPhone, PC, or through the .Me web apps and everything will get in sync automatically. It's a great set-up I'm sure you'll enjoy! :)
i understand what it is and how it works... i was just wondering if the discounted memberships from amazon that you mentioned were able to be used by anyone, or if it used some kind of "mac only" registration scheme.

[Elbacanazo920]

I had Mobile Me throughout the trail period. It was an OK experience not exactly what I expected there are still a little too many bugs for me. Checking mobile me on a web browser is not all that great, It can be pretty slow at times. So I canceled it a month before my trail period was over. The trail peroid is what you should sign up for. Check it out for yourself; third party opinions are always good but nothing is better than testing it yourself.

[macgirl]

i understand what it is and how it works... i was just wondering if the discounted memberships from amazon that you mentioned were able to be used by anyone, or if it used some kind of "mac only" registration scheme.

Nope, the codes that are sold by Amazon or anyone else are not restricted to Macs only...

[ihaveanipod]

I had Mobile Me throughout the trail period. It was an OK experience not exactly what I expected there are still a little too many bugs for me. Checking mobile me on a web browser is not all that great, It can be pretty slow at times. So I canceled it a month before my trail period was over. The trail peroid is what you should sign up for. Check it out for yourself; third party opinions are always good but nothing is better than testing it yourself.

Thanks for this, I may do exactly that since I've heard such mixed things about it. I guess I always hesitate with trials, though, since they can make it hard for you to cancel before billing...

[itsabouttime]

Very satisfied with MobileMe!

[Zhiinger]

I'm trying to decide whether or not to sign up for MobileMe. I'm well aware of its features, but would love know if any of you would recommend for or against it based on your own experience. Thanks!

I'm enjoying the ease of the mobile me. I want more features but I like the fact that I can login anywhere and see all my stuff. And putting the email on my iPhone was seamless.

I hope they keep it and don't drop it as a product.

[PDACPA]

I have been on the trial. My iphone is sync with my Vista Laptop and I have a Mac Mini that I use iCal on at work. So far, once past the initial set up, the sync works well.

I just wish there was a TODO list sync attached to the calendar. I am more todo list than appt on a calendar oriented.

Temporarily, I just make appt. for my Todo items that I need done each day.

One complaint, if I make a NEW appointment on the iphone, I can select the calendar that I want it associated with. Then I realize, after saying done, that it is on the wrong day. When you go back to edit the entry, you CANNOT CHANGE the calendar. Makes no sense, especially as that is the mistake I make alot.

[kokogirl]

I have been on the trial. My iphone is sync with my Vista Laptop and I have a Mac Mini that I use iCal on at work. So far, once past the initial set up, the sync works well.

I just wish there was a TODO list sync attached to the calendar. I am more todo list than appt on a calendar oriented.

Temporarily, I just make appt. for my Todo items that I need done each day.

One complaint, if I make a NEW appointment on the iphone, I can select the calendar that I want it associated with. Then I realize, after saying done, that it is on the wrong day. When you go back to edit the entry, you CANNOT CHANGE the calendar. Makes no sense, especially as that is the mistake I make alot.

I agree with your 2 complaints. I bought a separate to-do app (well, a few to test them out) to keep track of my to-do's. I also make calendar appts for important to-dos.

It is annoying how you have to go back to iCal to edit the calendar that you make an error entering on your phone. I do that often also! I hope that will be fixed in a future software update.

Overall, I like Mobile Me and I will renew it when it is time.

[PDACPA]

Koko I guess the Apple programers do not make mistakes!

I hope these read these forums and listen to people who actually are using the phones as opposed to testing in a lab or while working. Business use and the tech and design probably use their tech differently.

[kokogirl]

Koko I guess the Apple programers do not make mistakes!

I hope these read these forums and listen to people who actually are using the phones as opposed to testing in a lab or while working. Business use and the tech and design probably use their tech differently.

Maybe we should write them an email or something...do you think they listen?

[PDACPA]

I thought I read that there is a place to send them suggestions. Who knows if they will listen. However, if I was Apple, I would be reading these forums as we are the ones in the trenches using the phones on a daily basis in all sorts of different ways.

[PDACPA]

Here is what I have been doing to create a sort of daily ToDo list.

I create calendar items that are marked as "all day." These then appear at the top of my calendar on me.com and then the regular appointments show in their time slot. Since they are color coded, I can identify which calendar they are from.

Now if I could make the "all day calendar" items sort by calendar (ie all red together, then all blue, then all green etc) at the top of my calendar, I can have a psuedo to do list.

[iZiL]

Try Jott, It works great, puts text from talk right in MS outlook calender.

[PDACPA]

Thanks for the recommendation. I have used Jott, and it works ok (have had some voice scramblings and the daily email not updating well...could be user error too), I just would like to see Mobile Me cleaned and polished as it is working partially for me now and with some corrections and fine tuning, it would be just what I need.

[glsda]

Thanks for the recommendation. I have used Jott, and it works ok (have had some voice scramblings and the daily email not updating well...could be user error too), I just would like to see Mobile Me cleaned and polished as it is working partially for me now and with some corrections and fine tuning, it would be just what I need.

I moved over from the Palm / Treo OS system about a month ago after using it about 10 years. I have been reading all the input and am about to try the trial period with Mobile Me. I have 3 PCs at the office and 1 at home all running XP. Has Apple worked enough of the bugs out where a PC user will not spend an inordinate amount of time getting the system function?

Jerry

[iZiL]

I moved over from the Palm / Treo OS system about a month ago after using it about 10 years. I have been reading all the input and am about to try the trial period with Mobile Me. I have 3 PCs at the office and 1 at home all running XP. Has Apple worked enough of the bugs out where a PC user will not spend an inordinate amount of time getting the system function?

Jerry

Hi,
I am also using 3 PCs with Mobile Me and I love it.

good luck

[glsda]

Hi,
I am also using 3 PCs with Mobile Me and I love it.

good luck

IZil

Any tips or suggestions since I will probably try to get it set up this weekend?

[PDACPA]

I use MM with Vista on my laptop, XP on my office PC and on my mac mini. No issues other than I found the me.com works much faster if you download and use Safari for windows. You get a warning with I E7 and it runs slow.

[glsda]

Thanks to all I''l give it a shot this afternoon.

[jsntrenkler]

i understand what it is and how it works... i was just wondering if the discounted memberships from amazon that you mentioned were able to be used by anyone, or if it used some kind of "mac only" registration scheme.

Yes discounted .mac memberships work just fine. You register your mobileme account online, it does not care what operating system you are using. I recently renewed my mobile me with a $39 .mac registration code I purchased on Amazon. Those codes are good until they are gone, Apple won't cancel them. You can also find .mac at a discount at your local circuit city for $45

[glsda]

So if I give the trial version a run and then decide to buy it I can obtain one of the mac discount memberships and use it for my PC? Is this correct?

Jerry