MobileMe is a new service from Apple, aimed at the mobile professional. It promises to automatically sync between your computer and phone, wherever you are; "Everything up to date. Anywhere you are".
The description for the MobileMe web page on Apple.com is "MobileMe
automatically pushes new email, contacts, and calendar events to your Mac, PC,
iPhone and iPod touch using a secure online server or cloud
. So no matter
where you are, you’re always up to date. You can access it all from any web
browser with an elegant suite of ad-free web applications at me.com.".
Apple’s MobileMe uses a cursive "me" that reminds me of Windows Millennium Edition. It isn’t important, and Microsoft does not have a monopoly on this style, but Windows ME wasn’t Microsoft best version of Windows, and the association is jarring.
Most synchronisation keeps the desktop central, for many good reasons. That is where the richest applications are, that is where you best connections to most devices, that is where you control security and backups. Palm HotSync, Microsoft ActiveSync, MarkSpace The Missing Sync, Apple’s own iSync and many others all keep the desktop central.
MobileMe is not like that. MobileMe stores data in the cloud - which is a hip way of saying that it is stored an on some online server, and that you couldn’t care less where in the network that server is.
The hipness of this idea is a bad development. It is okay for architects to use clouds, to focus on the overall picture, and not get bogged down by irrelevant details when discussing some system, but you, as a consumer should always care where your data is.
In the case of Apple MobileMe, your data is stored on me.com, an Apple-owned domain, and the server is probably located at Apple Headquarters, at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, California. That’s practically on top of the San Andreas fault. That is not a good place to store data. That alone earns MobileMe a strong disrecommendation.
MobileMe supports the iPhone. Apple has to support it, as the iPhone is not compatible with much else yet. MobileMe supports the iPhone and iPod on both Windows and MacOS - and that is roughly the extent of the product. It does not support anything else. It does not work with any other phone, handheld device or MP3 player.
On MacOS, MobileMe works with the Address Book and iCal. It also works with iPhoto, iMovie, iWeb and Aperture. Apple notes that it "even sync Safari bookmarks", which probably means that it does not work with Opera, Firefox or Internet Explorer bookmarks. MobileMe’s iDisk feature provides access to files you’ve uploaded.
On Windows, MobileMe works with Outlook, Outlook Express and Windows Contacts. Windows Contacts is a Vista application that replaces the Windows Address Book (WAB) found in Windows XP. Apple does not explicitly claim compatibility with Windows Address Book, but it is where Outlook Express stores its addresses. For Windows, Apple does claim support of Internet Explorer bookmarks in addition to Safari bookmarks, but again does not mention Opera or Firefox.
I wanted to try MobileMe on Windows XP, Service Pack 3. Apple claims that setup is simple, "Just install the latest version of iTunes, and a MobileMe Preferences application is added to your Windows Control Panel.
This seems to be another case of unwarranted bundling. It makes some sense to install MobileMe with an iPod or iPhone, but I don’t need iTunes to synchronise my addresses and I don’t need MobileMe to use the iTunes.
There are problems with removing and installing iTunes. I’ve detailed these in a separate article. Once you have iTunes 7.7 installed, you have the MobileMe Preferences applet in your Control Panel. Turns out that there are no preferences to set all! It is a log-in dialog box.
This a horrendous user-interface design. You do not need a Control Panel
applet for a login dialog box and having a log-in dialog box in a Control Panel
applet makes very little sense to me.
Worse, I’ve been told to install iTunes 7.7 to get a preferences applet. I go
through lots of trouble to get it installed, in spite of Apple’s broken install
programs, only to find that there are no preferences to set at all. Apple just
set a new low in user experiences.
Anything you want to with MobileMe happens through the me.com website. Apple
calls it a cloud, I call it a a web server, and what Apple offers is web
service.
That web service stores your data, including your private phone number, agenda
and notes on Apple’s website. I believe this whole approach to reveal a lack
thought. Storing private data on third-party server just isn’t wise. I did not
encounter even one reference to encryption to guard the privacy of your data. In
fact, the me.com website does not even have a privacy policy. When i used
Internet Explorer, I found a "Privacy Policy" link on the login page, but it
leads to the catch-all privacy policy for apple.com, which is mostly about
tracking your visits. Methinks that a site that stores your private data needs a
real privacy policy.
The me.com website does not validate and requires that you enable scripting. Without scripting, me.com immediately shows a "Looking for something on MobileMe?" page. With scripting enabled, it briefly shows a login screen first, then shows the Looking for page. That page has "MobileMe login" link. If you click that link, you briefly get to see the login screen, and are then shown the Looking for screen again....
The other two links on the Looking for page, "Learn More..." and "MobileMe support" do work, and lead to MobileMe promotional and support pages on the apple.com site.
That’s in Firefox 3.0, a browser Apple claims to support. A doubtful claim, considering the fact that I apparently need to try and login during the one millisecond I get to see the login page.
If you visit me.com using Internet Explorer 7, the experience is even worse; you get a screen that tells you to get another browser. A with dialog on a black page tells you in big bold type that "Internet Explorer 7 is not fully supported ". The text below that is "Internet Explorer 7 has known compatibility issues with modern web standards which affect Web 2.0 applications such as MobileMe. You can use Internet Explorer 7, but you will not have access to all MobileMe features and will experience slower performance. ".
I takes serious issue with Apple stance. If Apple bothered to make sure their web site validated in the first place, and did not rely on scripting, they would have considerable less trouble achieving cross-browser portability. That said, Internet Explorer 7 still has issues, but it is good enough for everybody else doing "web 2.0", so why wouldn’t it be good enough for Apple? I sympathise with Apple concerning Internet Explorer 5 and even 6, but not supporting Internet Explorer 7 is ridiculous. This seems to be another attempt to push Safari. The performance claim is particularly disingenuous - Apple’s performance claims have been debunked more than a year ago already, yet Apple keeps claiming Safari is faster than other browsers. Apple recommends using Firefox or Safari, I recommend using Opera or Firefox.
By the way, when you choose to continue in Internet Explorer, you actually get the login page, and it is not near-immediately replaced by the Looking for page. So the Internet Explorer 7 experience seems better than the Firefox 3 experience.
MobileMe is not free. It costs US$ 99 a year. There is a sixty day free trial to let you find out whether you want it anyway. There are two sign up pages. The first one asks your name, your email, and user name. It also ask your date of birth. The second one demands your credit card details. Apple is using opt-out instead of opt-in, and hoping that you forget to opt-out during the trial period.
I have a simple rule about credit card details. I will give them when needed only. Until I actually decide to buy something, you don’t need them. Demanding credit card details at the beginning of an ostensible free trial, and counting on my trials accounts defaulting on the opt-out system is despicable. Evaluation of MobileMe ends here.
MobileMe has limited connectivity, it supports only the most obvious
programs. That is not unusual for new programs, but it something to be aware of.
You need to install the latest version of iTunes to get the MobileMe applet in
the Control Panel, but there are no preferences to set. It is just a login
dialog box.
This service seems aimed at iPhone users, but does not offer them much. After all, iPhone already syncs with iCal and Outlook. Apple wants to store your private data on their server, but does not mention encryption once and the me.com site lacks a real privacy policy. Moreover, Apple probably positioned the me.com server above a major geological fault line.
The web site does not validate and requires scripting. It is officially incompatible with Internet Explorer 7, but it does not work right in Firefox 3. Perhaps most telling is that Apple does not trust the quality of their product to win you over and opt in to their service, but demands your credit card details for the free trials, and is apparently counting on evaluators forgetting to opt out to get their revenue stream started. Apple has already messed up and charged users who merely wanted to try the free service.
MobileMe is seriously limited, unreliable and expensive. Apple hit a new
user-experience low with their so-called Preferences applet; it requires
installation of iTunes but does not offer any preferences to set, it is merely
an insensible login dialog box. Apple loudly shouts that MobileMe isn’t
compatible with Internet Explorer, and I experienced that it does not work right
in Firefox. Apple is trying to trick trial users with an opt-out policy, and
has already charged many incorrectly. There is no real privacy policy,
apparently no encryption anywhere, and the web server is an unsafe location.
MobileMe is an all-around bad implementation of a bad idea. MobileMe is a serious
contender for worst product of the year. I highly disrecommend it.
Those who did try MobileMe despite the opt-out policy have experienced that the service does not work as advertised, they have been unable to access their mail for days.
Apple has demonstrated just how sensible my credit card rule is. UK users who accepted the opt-out scheme found that Apple had taken £ 121 (slightly more than € 150 at current exchange rates) out of their account without their consent. Apple’s intent was to remove 50 pence, to make sure the credit card details are correct, but charged 24.200 % times that.
David Pogue calls MobileMe a MobileMess. He relates that the push does not work reliable, that users lose emails, that tech support is unreachable and that Apple declines to comment.
Citing several sources for various interesting facts, The Unofficial Apple Weblog concludes that it is still Mobile 'Meh'.
Copyright © Tamura Jones. All Rights reserved.