Apple Introduces MobileMe Internet Service
Push Email, Push Contacts and Push Calendar for iPhone, iPod touch, Macs
and PCs
SAN FRANCISCO–June 9, 2008–Apple today introduced MobileMe, a new
Internet service that delivers push email, push contacts and push calendars
from the MobileMe service in the “cloud” to native applications on iPhone,
iPod touch, Macs and PCs. MobileMe also provides a suite of elegant,
ad-free web applications that deliver a desktop-like experience through any
modern browser. MobileMe applications (www.me.com) include Mail, Contacts
and Calendar, as well as Gallery for viewing and sharing photos and iDisk
for storing and exchanging documents online.
“Think of MobileMe as ‘Exchange for the rest of us,'” said Steve Jobs,
Apple’s CEO. “Now users who are not part of an enterprise that runs
Exchange can get the same push email, push calendars and push contacts that
the big guys get.”
With a MobileMe email account, all folders, messages and status indicators
look identical whether checking email on iPhone, iPod touch, a Mac or a PC.
New email messages are pushed instantly to iPhone over the cellular network
or Wi-Fi, removing the need to manually check email and wait for downloads.
Push also keeps contacts and calendars continuously up-to-date so changes
made on one device are automatically pushed up to the cloud and down to
other devices. Push works with the native applications on iPhone and iPod
touch, Microsoft Outlook for the PC, and Mac OS X applications, Mail,
Address Book and iCal, as well as the MobileMe web application suite.
MobileMe web applications are 100 percent ad-free and provide an
incredible, desktop-like experience that allows users to drag and drop,
click and drag and even use keyboard shortcuts. MobileMe provides anywhere
access to Mail, Contacts and Calendar, with a unified interface that allows
users to switch between applications with a single click, and Gallery makes
it easy to share photos on the web in stunning quality. Gallery users can
upload, rearrange, rotate and title photos from any browser; post photos
directly from an iPhone; allow visitors to download print quality images;
and contribute photos to an album. MobileMe iDisk lets users store and
manage files online with drag and drop filing and makes it easy to share
documents too large to email by automatically sending an email with a link
for downloading the file. MobileMe includes 20GB of online storage that can
be used for email, contacts, calendar, photos, movies and documents.
Pricing & Availability
MobileMe, available on July 11, is a subscription-based service with 20GB
of storage for $99 (US) per year for individuals and $149 (US) for a Family
Pack, which includes one master account with 20GB of storage and four
Family Member accounts with 5GB of storage each. Users can sign up for a
free, 60-day MobileMe trial at www.apple.com/mobileme and current .Mac
members will be automatically upgraded to MobileMe accounts. MobileMe
subscribers can purchase an additional 20GB of storage for $49 (US) or 40GB
of storage for $99 (US) annually.
Using an iPhone or iPod touch with MobileMe requires iPhone 2.0 software
and iTunes 7.7 or later. For use with a Mac, MobileMe requires Mac OS X
Tiger 10.4.11 or the latest version of Mac OS X Leopard. For a PC, MobileMe
requires Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (SP2), and
Microsoft Outlook 2003 or later is recommended. MobileMe is accessible on
the web via Safari 3, Internet Explorer 7, and Firefox 2 or later. Internet
access requires a compatible ISP; fees may apply. Broadband Internet
connection recommended. Some features require Mac OS X Leopard and iLife
’08, available separately.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple
II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh.
Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its
award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional
applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with
its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has
entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.
