MobileMe - is it worth it?

I've become interested in MobileMe service; however, I am not sure if it really makes much difference (since I have to pay $99 for it!).

Those who have used MobileMe service, What are the benefits (that you are using)?
Honestly, what is very interesting to me is locating my devices. I want to know if locating is just limited to iPhone and iPad? Can't it locate my MacBook Pro?

What other benefits does it have (in action)?

PS: I am using my PC as well and my email service is gmail - will there be an integration?

Find my iPhone is limited to iPhone and iPad. Essentially, no, it won't find your MBP if you lose it- that's what LoJack is for.

A MobileMe account offers Apple's own mail services, the ability to share and store files on the cloud and sync content (such as photos) between your Mac computers.

Here's the Mobile Me site: Apple - MobileMe - Your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and PC. In perfect sync.

For 100 bucks? I'm not sure.
For 50-70 bucks? YES!

I would still get it even if the only feature it had was the simplistic mobile me sync that places a 20gb harddrive on your desktop. This is really useful to me because I write a LOT of stuff for school, which would make plugging in a memory stick all the time, a real pain. Now, all I do is drag the saved file to the mobile me sync folder, and simply click the sync button. As simple as that, I can now go to school and access all my data from me.com, without having to worry about carrying a stupid flash stick, which I seemed to lose at the rate of 2 per month.

But then, you also get access to the me.com site, which gives you access to your mobile me gallery, tools, iphone/ipad location tracking, remote iphone/ipad locking/data wiping(incase you lose it), contact syncing between all your apple devices, as well as having one of the least spammed email services out there...I'm sure I'm missing something else.

I should remind you, the iphone location service is scary accurate! It can pinpoint my iphone's location to the point that I can tell which room(our house) it's in from the map.

My experience has been that it's simply not worth it. While MobileMe offers you seamless integration and easy setup for you, the service itself is notoriously flakey and can be downright unreliable at times.

You can get all the same services for free or for a fraction of the price elsewhere, but you then have to live with two, three or more apps on your Mac. For instance, you can use Gmail for webmail, sync your contacts and calendars with Gmail as well, use Dropbox for file storage, Picasa or Flickr for photo album storage, etc. And if you have an iPhone or iPad, the "Find My iPhone" app is now free.

CreativeGuy said:

My experience has been that it's simply not worth it. While MobileMe offers you seamless integration and easy setup for you, the service itself is notoriously flakey and can be downright unreliable at times.

You can get all the same services for free or for a fraction of the price elsewhere, but you then have to live with two, three or more apps on your Mac. For instance, you can use Gmail for webmail, sync your contacts and calendars with Gmail as well, use Dropbox for file storage, Picasa or Flickr for photo album storage, etc. And if you have an iPhone or iPad, the "Find My iPhone" app is now free.

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Don't know how long you have been a user but I'm in my 4th year. Please explain your "flakey" experiences. I've had no real issues with it and I use it sync my Desktop Mac, MacBook and iPhone, as well as for file storage, file transfer, Back to My Mac etc. Shedding some light on you claims/comments could be interesting.

If you are unsure whether or not the service is right for you, you can sign up for a 60-day trial. Additionally, you don't have to pay the $99/year fee if you don't want to. I'm not sure where you're located, but you can check Amazon for MobileMe packages and get a year's worth of service for far less than Apple's suggested price tag. You just enter the code in the box and voila! I extended my subscription this year for only $60. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

As for the service's reliability, it's rock solid. There were a number of significant issues that arose during the service's first days back in mid-2008. Those have since been ironed out.

Ultimately, whether or not the service is worth it for you completely depends on whether or not you make good use of what it has to offer. Sign up for a trial and see if it works for you.

baggss said:

Please explain your "flakey" experiences. I've had no real issues with it and I use it sync my Desktop Mac, MacBook and iPhone, as well as for file storage, file transfer, Back to My Mac etc. Shedding some light on you claims/comments could be interesting.

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I've been using Apple's MobileMe service since it was called iTools about 10 years ago. Since that time it's had a few name changes, but the underlying problems haven't.

It's slow as a fat dog, it goes down at least two to three times per year (do a Google search), it's expensive compared to the alternatives (which are mostly free), and Apple has a habit of just saying "hey, we're changing it and that's just too bad if you don't like it."

It's not that it's a bad service, it's just that if you have any computer/web experience at all, you can find free alternatives that are faster, more reliable and haven't altered their services (other than to ADD new features) in many years.

NOTE: Thread moved to appropriate forum. Not just anything goes in Anything Goes

CreativeGuy said:

I've been using Apple's MobileMe service since it was called iTools about 10 years ago. Since that time it's had a few name changes, but the underlying problems haven't.

It's slow as a fat dog, it goes down at least two to three times per year (do a Google search), it's expensive compared to the alternatives (which are mostly free), and Apple has a habit of just saying "hey, we're changing it and that's just too bad if you don't like it."

It's not that it's a bad service, it's just that if you have any computer/web experience at all, you can find free alternatives that are faster, more reliable and haven't altered their services (other than to ADD new features) in many years.

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I disagree with you on almost all counts. Other than the issues a few years ago I have had no problems with it. I find it quite fast (as fast as my personal server) from pretty much anywhere I go (all over the US). I don't consider $8.25/month to be expensive ($99 divided by 12, less if you find deals on Amazon etc). There may be other free alternatives out there but none of them integrate as smooth and seamlessly with my Apple products. To date Apple hasn't changed anything that negatively impacted me and has added features without jacking up the price. From where I sit I see no downside here.

As for the issues a few years ago, I ended up with about 6 months of extended service at no extra cost while Apple sorted them out. I personally felt that was adequate compensation for any issues I may have been caused by the problems (none of them seemed to impact me as I recall).

To each their own I guess.

Oh, and iTools was a POS IMO. I used it back then and it was more or less a a waste of time. Then again, I had a slow DSL connection back then too.

I use all of its features, and I think it's absolutely worth the annual 50-70 $ which is the going rate when you purchase from eBay or Amazon.

I advice the OP to get a free trial and explore all the features of MobileMe. There is a systematic overview at help.apple.com for what one can do with it. Only the OP can tell if those features are worth the premium in his or her case.

I agree with the consensus (ie, not with CreativeGuy) -- it's not worth the money if you're only going to use like one or two features, but overall it's a bargain, particularly if you can avoid paying retail.

I particularly like the lack of ads, the lack of snooping, and the integration. YMMV, but I take advantage of it rather fully and I have been using it since iTools day 1, meaning I've had the same short, easy-to-remember email address for over 10 years. I did notice some issues back when they switched from .Mac to MobileMe, but they gave us all a few extra months for the trouble and its been hassle-free since.

There is one area where I will agree with CreativeGuy: uploading to iDisk is slower than it needs to be, even accounting for the fact that upload speed on most people's connections is 1/5th their download speed. For some reason they've never optimized that.

I have MobileMe and I love that it keeps everything in sync for me across devices and machines. For me it's worth it just for that. The rest of the package is just gravy.

Of course I've also been using it for about 9 years now.

Thinking of calling it quits

I have been a Macintosh user since 1984 and a MobileMe (.Mac/iTools) user for about 10 years. I currently have an older iMac, a MacBook Pro, and a new iPod Touch. My MobileMe account is up for renewal, and I'm seriously considering dropping it. My #1 reason is the cost. $99 seems less and less worth it. Here are my main reasons:

• I work for a U.S. Government agency and live overseas. We use Windows XP (just upgraded a couple years ago from Windows 2000), and it is very locked down. Our network is behind a firewall, so I can't mount iDisk. I also can't run any applications or tools other than what is provided. I can't synch Outlook with MobileMe or Google because of the firewall.
• Our only available browser is Internet Explorer 6, with no definite plans to upgrade soon. Trying to use MobileMe with this browser is barely workable. For that reason, I also have a GMail account, so I can check it during the day. Works great. While I use my me.com address mostly for family and close friends, I keep forgetting and sending them e-mails from gmail. So they're confused and use either address.
• The updated web calendar looks great on my Mac at home, but again, I can't use it at work where I would need it. And that firewall keeps me from synching from Outlook.
• With my overseas ISP at home, location services don't work well, so Find my iPod Touch doesn't work. (Of course, it would only work if it's connected to WiFi at the time.)
• My primary reasons for MobileMe are the email account (see above) and the cross-device synching. However, I really only use the MacBook Pro and the iPod Touch. Since I rely on Podcasts for my news, etc., I'm manually synching all the time, anyway.
• I've used the photo gallery, but not in a long time. Since my family is all on Facebook, I use that more (love the integration from iPhoto!).
• I've used the Web posting, but it doesn't exist anymore. Don't really need it when I keep up with Facebook and my blog.

So those are my thoughts. Am I missing some compelling feature? I feel a little disloyal to abandon it after all these years. But I'm cheap and would rather use that money toward a VPN so I can watch Netflix instantly overseas!

curtwhit said:

So those are my thoughts. Am I missing some compelling feature? I feel a little disloyal to abandon it after all these years. But I'm cheap and would rather use that money toward a VPN so I can watch Netflix instantly overseas!

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I would say that in your specific circumstances it's not worth your money. The fact that you are hamstrung by what you are stuck with (and where you are) is the real issue, none of which is really the fault of MM.