The Tech Bench

Apple has announced a beta version of the new MobileMe Mail.

This is the webmail interface at me.com and looks to be delivering a more iPad like look and feel.

Current MobileMe members can request an invitation to the beta by clicking the invite link at the lower left of the mail screen after logging in at me.com

New features include; faster load times, more customizable view options, desktop formatting and the ability to have your rules synced and function across all of your different Apple devices.

This is most likely the first major redesign for a new MobileMe (hopefully free) suite.

[ MobileMe Beta ]

Rumors are that MobileMe may become a free service soon.

The $99/year cloud based service from Apple currently provides 20GBs of online storage, a me.com email address, syncing across different Apple devices, calendaring and contact syncing, file sharing and remote iPhone tracking.

Changing MobileMe into a free service could be a smart move. A lot of MobileMe’s features can be had for free with Google or other services and removing the admission fee would definitely boost adoption rates.

Apple could monetize the service using their new iAd platform and open up sections of it to developers to increase the feature set.

My first questions when hearing this was, “What about the person that just renewed their subscription for $99?” Would Apple issue prorated refunds based on the remaining days you’ve paid through? If it turns out to be true that MobileMe is going free, I guess we’ll find out.

[MacDailyNews]

Apple has released the MobileMe iDisk App for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

This free app is for MobileMe users (subscribers) and allows them to view and share files on their MobileMe iDisk from their iPhone.

The iPhone can view MS Office files, PDFs, and multi-media but usually I just email myself files if I need to see them on my iPhone.

Where iDisk comes in handy is when you want to (securely) share large files with others. This app allows you to email a password protected link to any file on your iDisk from your iPhone.

You can also access other MobileMe users public folders which can make on the fly file sharing easy.

So how useful is this app? If you currently use iDisk on your Mac, this application is a must have. If you don’t really use iDisk very often, there are no new features here to get exited about.

[ MobileMe iDisk App ]

Apple’s iDisk makes securely sending large files easy as email.

Included with the MobileMe service, iDisk is an Apple hosted storage service that allows you to backup, sync and share files using 20GBs of online space.

Here’s how it works:

1. Upload your file (any size up to your storage limit) to iDisk.

2. Log into MobileMe from any computer’s web browser.

3. Select the file and click the “share button.”

4. The pictured drop down will allow you to send a link to the file via email. You can password protect the file and have the link expire after a set number of days.

While there are other online services like GigaSize to transfer large files, the iDisk interface is fast and easy for the recipient to access. If you have MobileMe, this is a great way to securely share files.

[ MobileMe ] [ iDisk ]

Apple has sent out a final notification that the .Mac HomePage app will be discontinued as of July 7th.

If you have a .Mac Homepage, you’ll still be able to view it, but not edit it or create new pages.

Apple has posted instructions on migrating the content over to MobileMe.

MobileMe replaced .Mac last year as Apple’s internet subscription service.

[ MobileMe Transition FAQ ]

Soon after the release of the iPhone 3.0 software today, I decided to test out the Find My iPhone feature. This requires a subscription to MobileMe.

Find My iPhone

1. Download and install v3.0 of the iPhone software.

2. Enable Find My iPhone on your iPhone. This can be done in Settings> Mail, Contact, Calendars> Your MobileMe Account> Find My iPhone

3. Log in to MobileMe. Click the Account tab.

4. Click Find My iPhone on the left hand side of the page.

5. Click Update Location. When I first logged in I noticed my location had already been tracked from earlier in the morning. This was prior to installing the 3.0 update. It appears the phone’s last location (and possible other locations) are already trackable without having 3.0 installed.

My location before I even installed the 3.0 update!

6. Wait a few minutes for the location to be found. Inside our building I was able to get a large crosshairs (I’m assuming it was using WiFi), when I walked outside the crosshairs got more targeted and smaller. Didn’t appear to get the GPS dot I’m used to seeing on the iPhone.

Inside Building

Outside Building

7. Viola! Your location is found. There’s also the handy Display a Message or Play a Sound feature. When you click it you’re prompted to enter a message. Type in a message to yourself (or whoever has your phone), and check the box to play a sound for 2 minutes. Great for finding the phone if buried deep inside the couch.

8. Seconds later a notification shows on the phone, along with an email confirmation.

Remote Wipe

In case of theft or other unauthorized access, you can completely erase your iPhone using Remote Wipe. The last available option on the Find My iPhone list, click it and your phone erases itself.

[ MobileMe iPhone 3.0 Features ]

With the release of the 3.0 iPhone software on June 17th comes a new feature called Find My iPhone.

This new feature requires MobileMe and will work with all iPhones. Once you enable the feature on your iPhone, you’ll be able to log into me.com and bring up your iPhone’s approximate location on a map.

In addition to the location of your iPhone, you’ll also be able to display custom messages on your iPhone’s screen like, “I left my phone at your place, I’ll be back in a bit to pick it up.”

If you loose your iPhone at home (it’s always in the couch,) you can play an alert sound to lead you to it. A feature I know I’ll use.

If you’re a secret agent (or at least like the idea of being one) you can “leave” your iPhone with someone to track their location. This definitely brings up some privacy concerns, but since you have to sacrifice use of your phone, I doubt this will be an issue.

Speaking of privacy, you’ll also be able to remotely wipe all of the data on your iPhone. This feature is currently available for some enterprise customers and will come in handy in the case your iPhone is stolen. If you later find your iPhone, you can just re-sync to bring everything back.

MobileMe users also get some great file sharing and mobile iDisk access for the iPhone and iPod Touch with the new 3.0 software.

These added features make MobileMe an easier sell and add significant value to existing users.

[ MobileMe iPhone 3.0 Features ]