Mobile this, Apple.
Since Apple announced the new 3G iPhone and its "new, improved" connectivity service called MobileMe a few weeks ago, more chatter has surrounded the name and the logo which is replacing the dotMac service. And by chatter, I mean public flogging.
Both the name and the logo for the MobileMe service is probably one of the worst ideas in the history of Apple. The actual service provided better be phenomenal or MobileMe will flop harder than eWorld.
Apple has always charged a premium for its internet/email services compared to available online options but the software has always been pretty elegant so users have been willing to pony up for it. The .Mac service allowed users to access their address book, email account, calendar and bookmarks online as well as synchronize the information between different Macs. It allowed me to add information to my iCal at work and then synchronize it with the data on my home computer. Since the upgrade to the Leopard operating system, Apple hamstrung iCal with a new, albeit wonky, new entry method.
Now, with MobileMe, who knows what will happen? The only news about it so far is the addition of push email a la Blackberry. In the meantime, I'm going to continue to gripe about the horrendous logo.
1 comment:
We've seen this story before. Dot Mac was elegant, 5 or 8 years ago when it was introduced. and left on the vine to wither. All of us suckers kept renewing simply because, well, because we're suckers for apple. but every year we'd debate, even just for a moment, wether to renew or not.
Horrendous logo aside, I'm excited about MobileMe, but hesitant as to wether apple learned its lesson. Besides the "push email" for everyone bit, what does MobileMe offer Mac users (as opposed to iPhone+Mac users), over and above Dot Mac? Some new SproutCore enhanced web functionality but little else it seems.
Great blog btw. keep up the typograhical goodness.
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