Apple MC288Z/A MobileMe '09 MobileMe membership

Even better . . . it is possible

MobileMe was already a great way for you to keep your digital life in sync across multiple computers as well as your iPhone or iPod touch. It gave you remote storage and easy sharing for your files and worked intuitively with all the programs you already used. The new MobileMe still does all those things. But now it's better than ever, adding even more helpful features to allow you to keep your life in sync.

Your mobile lifesaver

Even the best of us misplaces something every now and again, like the keys, your wallet, and of course the remote control. But what if you misplace your iPhone? That's a traumatic experience no one should have to go through. But it's a lot less traumatic if you have MobileMe. With your MobileMe subscription, all you have to do is enable Find My iPhone on your phone and you're covered. Then, if you should happen to lose your iPhone, you can use any computer with internet to get a map of where your phone is. If you're near it but it's still hidden from view, you can remotely make it play sounds, even if it was on vibrate. And if you're not near it, you can display a custom message on it to make sure that whoever finds it will help it get home. You can display that message even if the phone is locked. If you still don't think your phone will make it back to you, and you're worried about the security of information you have on there, with MobileMe you can remotely reset your lost iPhone to factory settings. But if you are fortunate enough to recover it, it's easy to restore everything you had before with a MobileMe membership. So now you can worry a little less about losing your precious iPhone.

Take it on the road

MobileMe has featured iDisk storage since MobileMe was created. This allows you to store files in the portion of the 20GB of memory you're not using for mail and Gallery, and then access it from any computer. And MobileMe has always been compatible with your iPod touch or iPhone. So with this release of MobileMe, Apple decided to combine them. There's now an iDisk app in the App Store, for free. With this app, you can access your iDisk, or other's public iDisk folders. You can then open and preview all sorts of files including Microsoft Office documents, iWork docs, PDFs, and more in portrait or landscape view. What's even better is that you can easily share files from the iDisk app.

Where's a better place to store stuff than your hard drive? The cloud.

Your mobile device is far from the only place to use your iDisk, though. After all, you can access all your files from any browser simply by going to me.com. This easy-to-use interface allows you to drag and drop files to the proper folders. And if you're using Mac OS X, you can even access iDisk from the Finder. However you get there, you can easily manage all your files and folders you choose to store. One of those folders is the public folder, where you can put documents you want friends to be able to access. This is also a great tool for collaboration since others can make edits and then add files to your public iDisk folder. And of course, you can access other people's public iDisk folders. Another nifty feature of iDisk is that it allows you to easily share files too large to send as e-mail attachments. Simply pick the file you want to send, choose the recipients, and MobileMe will send them a link that allows them to download the file as a ZIP file. Worried the wrong person might find that file? Don't be. You can always add a password to access the document, or even set time limits on how long someone can access it. And you can transfer plenty of stuff to your friends. Your MobileMe account gives you 20GB shared memory for email, photos, iDisk, and other storage. To put that in perspective, that's enough for around 7,000 high-quality photos. And you can transfer up 700GB of information every month, so chances are that you won't hit that limit, ever.

Welcome to the Gallery! You can look, but you can also download!

Presentations and dissertations aren't the only things you want to share with those close to you, though. You want everyone to be able to see your photos and videos too. And wouldn't it be a bother if they had to download all your pics from that last vacation just to view them? Apple thought so too. That's why every MobileMe membership includes the Gallery. This custom website allows you to upload photos and videos so that your friends and family can access them easily. You can add pictures in a variety of ways. On a Mac, the easiest way is to upload your media directly from the programs they're already in. You can quickly and easily add your files from iPhoto, Aperture, or iMovie anytime. If you're on a PC or just prefer to use the web, you can upload photos and videos from any computer with a web browser. But if you're on the road with your iPhone 3GS, you can now upload photos and videos directly without syncing or logging on to the internet. But aside from viewing your media files in an extremely easy-to-use interface, your friends can download print-quality photos from your Gallery or even add their own pictures of you to your Gallery. Media sharing has never been easier or more fun!

A little pushy

You might not be used to using the word "pushy" with positive connotations. But after you try MobileMe, you will be. One of the coolest features, the staple of MobileMe is the ability to sync your contacts, mail, and calendars across all your computers and your mobile device. But with the push feature, this happens instantly and wirelessly. So if you add a meeting on your work PC in Microsoft Outlook, you can see it within moments on your iPhone. If you meet your kid's friend's parents at Open House and add their contact info to your iPod touch, it's immediately available for viewing in the Address Book on your home computer. And if you get a message in your mailbox, it shows up at the same time on all your synced devices. Read it on your home computer and your other devices mark it as read so you don't have to cruise through the same messages multiple times. Trust us, you'll like when MobileMe pushes your stuff around.

Me.com: the hub of your digital life

At the center of your MobileMe options is your me.com page. This easy-to-use page gives you access to all of your MobileMe information including mail, contacts, calendars, and even iDisk. It's so easy to use you'll forget that it's on the web and can be accessed from any browser.

Write A Review

Mobile me (June 09, 2010)

Ease of Use		(4/5.0)
Value		(4/5.0)
Performance		(5/5.0)
Overall Rating		(4/5.0)

Reviewed By: Samuel D. - Pittsford, NY

This is a great way to keep all your stuff consistent from computer to computer to computer. Safari bookmarks, preferences, dock items, you name it, mobile me will keep it organized for you in its cloud.

It is also a great way to share files with friends. They can be practically any size and can be password protected.