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Apple issuing invitations for MobileMe Mail beta

by Megan Lavey-Heaton May 13th 2010 at 2:45AM

An eagle-eyed reader spotted something new on his MobileMe account after the completed maintenance this evening -- an invitation to join a "mail beta" for MobileMe.

What is this? We originally thought it could possibly be linked into the rumors that MobileMe may soon be free, but reader Beau quickly pointed us to a news post from Apple detailing a new MobileMe Mail beta application.

Features include:
  • The ability to have both widescreen and compact views.
  • Rules to help keep mail organized on any device you use MobileMe. Note that any rules set up on the beta may override rules already in place on OS X Mail, so disable duplicate rules on your Mac before giving this a test drive.
  • Single-click archiving of e-mail.
  • Formatting toolbar including the ability to shorten long URLs.
  • Improved performance for MobileMe Mail through me.com.
  • SSL security no matter where you access your MobileMe Mail.

The beta will work best with Safari 4, Firefox 3.6, and Internet Explorer 8. Additional information can be found on this support page. To get an invitation, sign into your MobileMe account through me.com and you'll see the invite in the bottom left corner. Please note that the beta is only available to English-language users of MobileMe at this time.

Thanks to Moses for the tip!

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An eagle-eyed reader spotted something new on his MobileMe account after the completed maintenance this evening -- an invitation to join a...
 

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24 Comments

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p.toulouse

I just signed up—but I've got a question: how long does it take for Apple to send you the "invitation"?

May 14 2010 at 9:15 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
barstep

Don't switch to beta yet - there is a glitch somewhere in the system.
I "upgraded" last night and since then I haven't received any new email on MobileMe or anywhere else. Nothing new on my iPhone or in Mail 4.2 IMAP on either of two Macs.

Support doesn't know anything about the beta program and advised me to switch back to the original webmail. It hasn't solved the problem. (They also suggested I complete the feedback form)

Thankfully I also forward incoming mail to a gmail account and the new messages are showing up there.

In the meantime I am waiting for a senior support person to investigate my case.

May 14 2010 at 3:07 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jim

The new MobileMe interface, looks a lot like the Atmail Webmail interface that has been around for over a year

http://atmail.com/tour.php

I agree, the 3-pane interface is a major improvement over the traditional 2-pane "Outlook Style", especially with laptops with a wider screen, the message list and content fits perfectly.

May 14 2010 at 12:20 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Alex

Yesterday, I kept getting alerts that my MobileMe login information & password were incorrect on my MacBook. I then had to sync everything again once I reentered them. Was this because of the maintenance?

May 13 2010 at 11:49 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
imarc

I've been using MobileMe since it was the free iTools (Long ago, kids). The rocky period was those first few months after the switch to MobileMe. To their credit, Apple acknowledged the issues and extended everyone's subscription.

It is occasionally irksome that there's no phone support. I had a PITA problem with Calendar syncing a while back that took over a week to fix via several chats and emails. One phone call would have done the same.

One thing I will say: signing up for the beta could not have been easier! I logged in and clicked the sign up link on the banner, expecting to fill out some form or release or have some lengthy ToS to read. Nothing. One click and done.

May 13 2010 at 11:18 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
candinimo211

I just signed up!! I'm really excited about the ability to view in wide screen and the compact version!! ;-)

May 13 2010 at 9:25 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mike

Interesting... the interface appears to be based on the iPad. Apple really does love their mobile devices, don't they? I hope they don't forget that some people (like me) love their Macs just as much as their mobile Apple devices. The Mac hasn't been getting much love lately!

May 13 2010 at 7:55 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Mike's comment
Urbz

Or, for that matter, love their Macs more...

May 13 2010 at 11:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
nickross95

I have been using MobileMe for about a year now and I have had only minimal problems which i believe were caused largely by the horrid syncing feature on windows creating multiple calendars. I have not experienced it go down since I have owned it. I did sign up for the beta just to see what new features it offers.

May 13 2010 at 6:49 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
enostrum

I'd buy MobileMe NOW if they put it in Spanish.
It's the second more used language "spoken" in Internet.
Same happens with OSX Server, Aperture and Final Cut (Logic IS in Spanish).

May 13 2010 at 5:42 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to enostrum's comment
Urbz

Man, I feel you. It's really frustrating when you're a minority user for something and Apple simply doesn't want to help you! I'm a Dvorak user, and I have to jailbreak my iPhone just to be able to get a dvorak keyboard, when it would probably take Apple all of 2 hours to do...

May 13 2010 at 11:31 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
enostrum

Thanks! I am also waiting for spending my Euros in Movies and TV Shows in iTunes.

But dont give up! In 4.0 you can set Dvorak!

May 13 2010 at 12:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Patrick

MobileMe set to german did not show the beta-invitation, had to switch to english...

May 13 2010 at 4:39 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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