MobileMe versus Gmail

[wolfshades]

With Gmail announcing a beta to allow syncing of contacts and calendar to and from the iPhone, it makes you wonder if maybe MobileMe will shortly become an unnecessary redundancy.

From the start, I've used MobileMe because of its push functionality plus it's ability to sync calendars and contacts from Outlook to my iPhone to another computer. In that, MobileMe does as advertised.

What really sucks though is the webmail version of MobileMe. You click on a message and it has to sit and think about it first before displaying the message content. With Gmail it's instant. Gmail excels at webmail.

Staying loyal to MobileMe (and being willing to fork out the cash for it) would still be a possibility of it provided a superior mail service. It does not.

Or a least - it doesn't on the Windows Safari side. Has anyone done a comparison on the Apple Safari side?

 

[jc1350]

To me they are entirely different services.

MM is more than email/calendar/contacts. I would agree that anyone using MM just for those services is wasting money. I, on the other hand, use just about all the services plus google email (personal domain), so the $99/year price is fine.

 

[TLewis]

With Gmail announcing a beta to allow syncing of contacts and calendar to and from the iPhone, it makes you wonder if maybe MobileMe will shortly become an unnecessary redundancy.

MobileMe is convenience service for non-computer experts. People are paying for the convenience and integration; some people don't like having to setup their computer, or having to install bits and pieces from various websites.

MobileMe-like functionality has already existed for a while, elsewhere. In particular, Google's announcement isn't anything new; push Google contacts and push Google calendar have been available for some time from nuevasync. Free push email has been available from at least two other places, and some people would argue that other online storage providers like dropbox are a lot better than iDisk (although capacity and pricing may be issues).

 

[d21mike]

From the start, I've used MobileMe because of its push functionality plus it's ability to sync calendars and contacts from Outlook to my iPhone to another computer. In that, MobileMe does as advertised.

What really sucks though is the webmail version of MobileMe.

I agree with you they do need to fix the MM Web Site. However, why don't you just add MobileMe Email to Outlook where you have your Contacts and Calendar. It is simply an IMAP Account (mail.me.com / smtp.me.com). I have doing this since day 1 and it is very fast and have very few problems. That way I very seldom login in to MobileMe Web Site.

 

[nippyjun]

If google would have an easy to sync contacts with outlook then i'd be really happy. Currently i use the google calendar sync to sync my outlook calendar with google calendar, but can't do the contacts. Unless there is a way that i'm unaware of.

 

[d21mike]

If google would have an easy to sync contacts with outlook then i'd be really happy. Currently i use the google calendar sync to sync my outlook calendar with google calendar, but can't do the contacts. Unless there is a way that i'm unaware of.

I use SyncMyCal since I have 9 Google Calendars and it is works really well.

I just checked their web site and if you want Contact Sync you have to get the Pro Version for $25. Mayber there are other options.

Here is a link to the feature compare:

http://www.syncmycal.com/compare_versions.htm

I feell I have to say I have no business relation with them. Just want to share my experience.

 

[wolfshades]

I agree with you they do need to fix the MM Web Site. However, why don't you just add MobileMe Email to Outlook where you have your Contacts and Calendar. It is simply an IMAP Account (mail.me.com / smtp.me.com). I have doing this since day 1 and it is very fast and have very few problems. That way I very seldom login in to MobileMe Web Site.

That would work - as long as you're limited to your home computer. Ideally - what you want is a webmail site that works at least as well as Gmail. MM has a way to go to get to that point.

 

[TLewis]

That would work - as long as you're limited to your home computer. Ideally - what you want is a webmail site that works at least as well as Gmail. MM has a way to go to get to that point.

As long as you have an IMAP-capable mail client (e.g., Mail.app, Thunderbird, outlook, etc.), your mail reading would generally work just like webmail. That's one of the reasons for using IMAP.

Of course, this does require using a non-public computer -- one with an IMAP-capable mail reader. On the other hand, you shouldn't be accessing webmail from a public computer, anyway, as you have to assume that some bad guy has installed a password-stealing keylogger on it.

 

[carlosbutler]

one of the main reasons i was inclined to use MobileMe was because of the push everything. when i bought a few computers from apple at the same time it was also very useful to have everything between each computer synced, and im sure there are some decent free things out there but just couldnt be bothered. the ease of just typing in your details and that was it was very good - and its not that i cant use a computer, im doing computer science /w AI at uni . i just couldnt be bothered.

also when buying with a new computer its cheaper, and then on the student discount it was even cheaper. my parents also use it so i got the family pack, and have even given one of the allocated accounts to a friend so he can sync stuff as well

 

[MBHockey]

With Gmail announcing a beta to allow syncing of contacts and calendar to and from the iPhone, it makes you wonder if maybe MobileMe will shortly become an unnecessary redundancy.

A bit ironic?

I think you're right. Most people will think twice about paying for MobileMe. But not me...yet. The big problem with Gmail for me is its conversation and labeling system. If they gave you the option of switching to normal mail I would probably leave MobileMe.

 

[d21mike]

A bit ironic?

I think you're right. Most people will think twice about paying for MobileMe. But not me...yet. The big problem with Gmail for me is its conversation and labeling system. If they gave you the option of switching to normal mail I would probably leave MobileMe.

I don't use gmail but I thought they recently added Folders. Maybe not the same as normal folders.

http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2009/02/gmail-adds-folders-by-improving-label.html


My problem with Google is that there is no tech support. I had some questions but since everything is free you can't get the same support you get with a pay for product.

 

[jwball]

The most useful thing on MobileMe was the calendar and contacts sync. Now google does this for free it has made MobileMe redundant in my eyes. So much so I have cancelled my subscription.

One other feature which MobileMe doesn't have is the ability to set alarms for events. It works fine with google, but is simply missing from MobileMe.

 

[El Chinero]

The Google method does NOT sync Groups, however ... a major negative point

 

[Mr Skills]

A bit ironic?
.

I was about to put on my patronising voice and explain what "ironic" means. But then I looked again, and it actually is ironic.

 

[Digital Skunk]

To me they are entirely different services.

MM is more than email/calendar/contacts. I would agree that anyone using MM just for those services is wasting money. I, on the other hand, use just about all the services plus google email (personal domain), so the $99/year price is fine.

This is very true, and a bit annoying. That is, it's annoying to think that someone would have paid $100 a year for email and push and leave out the other 70% of Mobile Me.

The web hosting, back to my Mac, 20GB iDisk, and now file sharing all via one service that I pay once per year is worth it to me. Not to mention that you can find it for less than that by searching eBay and other online stores.

 

[7on]

I think I'm done with MobileMe. I'm leaving the last three months as a forward and gives me enough time to transition my email addy over. DropBox provides excellent syncing (and for free, 2GB isn't bad).

All I need is a web hosting account and I'll have everything setup that I used from MobileMe but for cheaper and actually be able to send mail from my domain.

MobileMe is a fine choice for some people, however, since getting laid off I can find better things to buy for $60-$100 atm.

 

[Digital Skunk]

MobileMe is a fine choice for some people, however, since getting laid off I can find better things to buy for $60-$100 atm.

I hear you there for REAL brother!

this is the same reason I can't do a lot of things I have been wanting to do.

But, such is life..... I mean recession.

 

[d21mike]

For those of you that really like Google Mail. If you have a problem how do you get support? I tried to send them a problem and got a message that Google does not respond to email. So if not in the help system then you are out of luck? Maybe I am missing something but is there any way to get support from Google? I mean is there a pay for support option?

 

[TLewis]

For those of you that really like Google Mail. If you have a problem how do you get support? I tried to send them a problem and got a message that Google does not respond to email. So if not in the help system then you are out of luck? Maybe I am missing something but is there any way to get support from Google? I mean is there a pay for support option?

You can't contact Google support if you have a free account, but you do have options:

1. Use the extensive help facility. It's quite good: https://mail.google.com/support/?ctx=gmail&hl=en&labs=1
2. Search, or ask a question in the gmail forums. Chances are, your problem's been asked and solved there: http://groups.google.com/group/Gmail-Help-Discussion
3. Buy a google apps account (it's expensive, though). If you do so, you can get help from google. However, I'd only recommend going this route if you're a computer novice. (If you can't get your problem solved via the online help or forums, you probably have some funky corner-case problem, or you're a novice.

 

[d21mike]

You can't contact Google support if you have a free account, but you do have options:

1. Use the extensive help facility. It's quite good: https://mail.google.com/support/?ctx=gmail&hl=en&labs=1
2. Search, or ask a question in the gmail forums. Chances are, your problem's been asked and solved there: http://groups.google.com/group/Gmail-Help-Discussion
3. Buy a google apps account (it's expensive, though). If you do so, you can get help from google. However, I'd only recommend going this route if you're a computer novice. (If you can't get your problem solved via the online help or forums, you probably have some funky corner-case problem, or you're a novice.

Thanks. I am not a novice but I would hate to rely on an product that I could not get support for. For personal use maybe it is ok but not for business use. Took a while but I believe I found the pricing for Google Apps. If I understand it is $50/account/year. So if I need 10 email accounts it will cost $500 per year plus the cost of the domain. Is that right? There are no other options?

I currently use GoDaddy for Email and I get 10 accounts for $37.56 per year plus the cost of the domain which includes great phone support. However, that is only for email so it is not apples to apples comparison.

I also use MobileMe for my iPhone Email (I just have GoDaddy forward important email to MobileMe). I was hoping that MM would grow into more of a small business solution. It currently has more of what I want at a reasonable price.

Back to Google, I do use a number of their other Web Solutions (which are free - Calendar, Groups, Finance) but from time to time I run into a problem (like a Server Error today) for which you can't get support. I did report it but I am not expecting it will be fixed. This is the main reason I have not done more with Google.

 

[TLewis]

For personal use maybe it is ok but not for business use.

True, but I don't think MobileMe is good for business use, either.

Took a while but I believe I found the pricing for Google Apps. If I understand it is $50/account/year. So if I need 10 email accounts it will cost $500 per year plus the cost of the domain. Is that right? There are no other options?

That's right, as far as I know. I don't know of any other (Google) alternatives, although there are, of course, other companies that provide similar services.

Back to Google, I do use a number of their other Web Solutions (which are free - Calendar, Groups, Finance) but from time to time I run into a problem (like a Server Error today) for which you can't get support. I did report it but I am not expecting it will be fixed. This is the main reason I have not done more with Google.

You must be using Google a lot more than I am. I seem to see only a brief outage every couple of months or so.

 

[jc1350]

MobileMe's advertising clearly states it is not for business/corporate use and as such, Apple does not give any warranty or SLA (Service Level Agreement) on MM's availability. Now, just for being a for-fee service, they ought to, but consumers always get the shaft with consumer-grade products/services. Look at the typical BS from DSL/Cable providers.

Money may be tight, but if I owned my own company and required email, it would not use any free service. But, that's my 4-cents (inflation, you know).

 

[d21mike]

You must be using Google a lot more than I am. I seem to see only a brief outage every couple of months or so.

I use Google every day for Calendar Sharing (business use) and Groups (Business use) and Finance (Personal use). I don't use the email at this time.

Here is the "Hard" Error I am getting. I reported the problem via a web page but you can't talk to anyone to get it resolved. So I am stuck. Now I can change userid's and do another setup but I think Google should provide some type of support for this kind of error. At least with Apple I can do the live chat which for me has worked ok in the past. If Google does resolve this problem I will report back but so far have not receive a response to the problem.

Google Error

Server Error
The server encountered an error and could not complete your request.
If the problem persists, please report your problem and mention this error message and the query that caused it.

 

[d21mike]

True, but I don't think MobileMe is good for business use, either.

Agreed, at least not yet.

What I do use it for is Email, Contacts and Calendar for my iPhone. My work desktop Sync's my Google Calendar with Outlook Calendar which then Sync's my Outlook Calendars (9 - Shared with others) with MobileMe which inturn Sync's with my iPhone. I Sync my Outlook Contacts with MobileMe which Sync's with my iPhone. I also send a copy of my important email to MobileMe which is pushed to my iPhone. My primary company email and web site are with GoDaddy.

We are quite pleased with MobileMe Service. Almost no problems since last July (some problems in the beginning) when I started using it. However, I do not use the MM web site because I really have no need too and that is where most of the problems are (at least that is what I have heard).

I am always looking for ways to improve productivity at a reasonable cost.

 

[tezro]

The main thing that you can't setup a second email address.
Instead, you have to pay 40 Euro EXTRA to get 4 addresses.

At the moment my non-formal mail is a gmx.net address which I really like, but offers no syncing like mobileme. Not a big thing, but would be nice to have.
It offers a 1GB storage for mail and stuff, and I can add a couple of extra mail addresses. For free!

I never tried gmail since I had gmx.net years and years before gmail existed.