Apple Friday released expected updates to MobileMe, along with a free app called Find My iPhone that uses MobileMe credentials to help locate and manage lost iPhones and iPads.
As a set of Web services, MobileMe hasn't been a huge hit for Apple, but the improvements to the two-year-old offering might be enough to convince Apple holdouts to give it another try.
Here's a look at the update, which added a few extra bells and whistles beyond what was already known from the MobileMe beta that Apple circulated in May for MobileMe subscribers.
1. It Ain't Free: Contrary to some rumors suggesting Apple would offer MobileMe for free, the cloud-based service is still $99 a year in subscription.
2. Views You Can Use: MobileMe Mail, which got the lion's share of the updates for MobileMe, is now a three-paned view that organizes folders to the left side of the screen, puts a reading pane on the right, and has a message list in the middle. Users can change the view mode to adjust out of the three-pane option if they want. According to Apple, the updates also include stronger spam filtering.
3. Use An External Address: Among the MobileMe Mail features that Apple didn't preview yet is the ability to send mail, using MobileMe, from an external address. Yes, Apple users, you can now send e-mail messages using a non-MobileMe address from the me.com site, and manage mail for multiple e-mail addresses from MobileMe as well.
4. Stronger Navigation: MobileMe Web apps have lost their individual command buttons and now appear as a bar of buttons, similar to the way app buttons appear on Apple's iPad.
5. Find Your Way: The Find My iPhone app, which is free for MobileMe users, allows users to enter their MobileMe log-in on one Apple device to track another. That is, you can use your iPhone or a friend's iPhone -- any type of Apple iOS device, it appears -- to track down another device, such as a misplaced iPad. Before, Apple users could use the MobileMe Web site to track their device. The Find My iPhone app also lets users set a remote passcode lock on their device, remotely wipe their device's data, and even put a message to be displayed on the phone.
