Apple to launch new Find My Phone app, MobileMe updates

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple's MobileMe site is reporting that the system will undergo scheduled maintenance from 10PM PDT to Midnight tonight, Thursday June 17. The site is expected to reopen tomorrow with a finalized Mail update (now in beta), other interface improvements, and alongside a new iOS app that exposes "Find My iPhone" functions for the company's mobile users.



The "Find My iPhone" feature of MobileMe was introduced last year as a way for users to login to the web and locate and message an iPhone or iPod touch, sound its alarm, and remotely lock or wiped the device. The feature works on any iOS 3.x device linked to the user's MobileMe account, providing a unique level of secure remote administration usually only available for corporations with a centralized device management infrastructure. There is no similar consumer-level remote administration service available for Android, BlackBerry, Palm, Symbian, or Windows Mobile devices.



MobileMe users have had to access the feature via the web. Somewhat ironically, Apple blocks mobile iPhone and iPod touch users from visiting the standard MobileMe website, despite marketing the iPhone as begin able to browse the full Internet. However, Apple has subsequently exposed the Find My Phone feature to iPad users who login to me.com, although the iPad presentation is a customized web app, and not the same interface that desktop users get when visiting the MobileMe site.



New rumors indicate Apple will soon release a Universal iOS app for both iPhone and iPad users that will enable them to access the remote lookup features right from their mobile device. The new app would join others Apple has recently released, including its iTunes Mobile Connect app for developers, which allows them to monitor App Store sales, and the new Apple Store app for creating appointments and looking up retail locations.



In addition to the new remote admin app, Apple is also expected to make a series of improvements to MobileMe, including a new app switcher to replace the current button bar for Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Gallery, iDisk, Find MyPhone and Settings modules. The current beta of the enhanced Mail module presents a cloud icon that replaces the button bar, but clicking on the cloud simply dumps the user back to the previous user interface within Contacts. The revised Mail beta appears to style MobileMe more in harmony with the company's iPad look and feel, with simpler icons in a minimal web app presentation, but with more content visible.



«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 36
    stevetimstevetim Posts: 482member
    good because it did not work on iOS4 beta 3 which i'm running now. I assume the reason was a mobile me update was in order.
  • Reply 2 of 36
    min_tmin_t Posts: 74member
    And it's all Free, now! (response to Google) .....or 29.99 annually
  • Reply 3 of 36
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    I have had a MobileMe (.Mac) account for 3 years now. The main problem I find is that changes to mail metadata don't push. So if a message is read on one device, it will still appear as unread on all the others. The messages themselves push fine.



    I am glad for any new features, but how can they be focussing on something as trivial as the "dock" icons when something as fundamental as email syncing only half works?
  • Reply 4 of 36
    dagamer34dagamer34 Posts: 494member
    One wonders how long it will take before iOS 4 elements get backported into Mac OS X...
  • Reply 5 of 36
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    I have had a MobileMe (.Mac) account for 3 years now. The main problem I find is that changes to mail metadata don't push. So if a message is read on one device, it will still appear as unread on all the others. The messages themselves push fine.



    I am glad for any new features, but how can they be focussing on something as trivial as the "dock" icons when something as fundamental as email syncing only half works?



    I've had my account for 3 years too. I don't have that issue though. The iphone stills sees the mail as unread until it wakes back up to find out it was already read or deleted. It may do it automatically but I find that often i have to do it manually. Is that what you are talking about?
  • Reply 6 of 36
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by skiracer1987 View Post


    I've had my account for 3 years too. I don't have that issue though. The iphone stills sees the mail as unread until it wakes back up to find out it was already read or deleted. It may do it automatically but I find that often i have to do it manually. Is that what you are talking about?



    Yes that's the issue. When I read an email on my iPad I expect the little red unread mail badge to disappear from the Mail icon on my Mac but it doesn't. It's only later, when another new email arrives that the Mac, in the process of being pushed the new mail, will also be pushed the fact that the earlier mail was read on another device. So the Mac is incorrectly showing an email as unread potentially for hours.
  • Reply 7 of 36
    Hopefully we'll see an iPad version of the iDisk app this week too.
  • Reply 8 of 36
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    The boys in Cupertino are very aggressive this year - I love it.
  • Reply 9 of 36
    christophbchristophb Posts: 1,482member
    Great news on upgrades. MobileMe is going to really shine for me when there's complete integration between the iOS, the apps, and Me storage. Moving things on and off the iDevices is a pain and network accessed file system make a great potential solution.
  • Reply 10 of 36
    christophbchristophb Posts: 1,482member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SinisterJoe View Post


    Hopefully we'll see an iPad version of the iDisk app this week too.



    And Gallsry!
  • Reply 11 of 36
    rorybalmerrorybalmer Posts: 169member
    I dont get it.. they're releasing a "find my Phone" app... to use on your phone?? AM I missing something??
  • Reply 12 of 36
    applezillaapplezilla Posts: 941member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rorybalmer View Post


    I dont get it.. they're releasing a "find my Phone" app... to use on your phone?? AM I missing something??



    I second that. I am a MobileMe user and find this article confusing.
  • Reply 13 of 36
    christophbchristophb Posts: 1,482member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleZilla View Post


    I second that. I am a MobileMe user and find this article confusing.



    Sounds like an app for companies who use iPhones for their employees. A hook to use the service without needing MobileMe.



    I think I'll keep my personal phone and just pay for unlimited minutes. I'd rather not be tracked.
  • Reply 14 of 36
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by min_t View Post


    And it's all Free, now! (response to Google) .....or 29.99 annually



    Check out how much AT&T and other carriers charge per month to have a similar feature to Find My iPhone on your account. .Mac was worth the price when it first came out and it's still worth the $69/year*.



    I want more features, including Find My Mac by adding GPS chips to Macs and having the system startup with security in mind, like Orbicule's Undercover app, but more integrated.





    * Anyone who pays $99 just to buy it through Apple is throwing away $30/year.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ChristophB View Post


    And Gallary!



    I think a portal to photos on iDisk would be best served through the Photos app on the iPad.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rorybalmer View Post


    I dont get it.. they're releasing a "find my Phone" app... to use on your phone?? AM I missing something??



    The iPhone app makes perfect sense. I can see two primary functions.



    1) lets you help someone quickly who has lost their iPhone. Think about it, if you lose your iPhone you aren't going to go home to use your computer if you lose it while you are out. You'd want to know pretty much immediately.



    2) it let's you quickly locate people that may be on your account that you are following for whatever reason.
  • Reply 15 of 36
    jetlawjetlaw Posts: 156member
    I have been a mobileme user since the .mac days, and have decided not to renew. Between Google Sync and Dropbox, MobileMe is really hard for me to justify anymore. I can't figure out why Apple can't get this one right. With the vast majority of OSX users also sporting iPhones and/or iPads, you would think that cross-platform file sharing would be a higher priority than it seems to be.



    It shocks me that third parties can do this more effectively than Apple, especially given the sandboxed nature of iOS apps.



    Hopefully they will get mobileme polished up and doing what it is supposed to. I'd love to be able to justify coming back!
  • Reply 16 of 36
    gregoriusmgregoriusm Posts: 513member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Postulant View Post


    The boys in Cupertino are very aggressive this year - I love it.



    Steve said this was going to be one hell of a year for Apple's products. He told us "just wait and see."



    And it sure as heck is proving to be true! Next, September for new iPods, including the touch which will no doubt be just like it's big brother the iPhone.
  • Reply 17 of 36
    gregoriusmgregoriusm Posts: 513member
    I have to agree with jetlaw on that one.



    Apple is seriously behind in syncing. Seriously. And if I were Apple, I'd be embarrassed.
  • Reply 18 of 36
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    I have been trying the MobileMe Beta now for a few weeks, and I have to say that I love it.



    MobileMe has been thus far one of the most pathetic implementations of a software initiative by Apple, and I am finally happy to say that it seems to be coming along quite nicely (if the new mail interface is any indication).
  • Reply 19 of 36
    auclaucl Posts: 19member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SinisterJoe View Post


    Hopefully we'll see an iPad version of the iDisk app this week too.



    Mobile Me App maybe?



    the gallery app also still needs to get ported to iPad
  • Reply 20 of 36
    I just don't get why someone would pay $70-100 per year for something that can be had for free or a fraction of that price with even better functionality.



    Honestly, other than Find my iPhone, there is not one valuable feature.



    Flickr, gmail, and drop box can do it all better for free or a fraction of the price.



    I say this as someone who has 2 macbooks, an iPad, two iPhones, an iPod, and a Mac mini. Clearly, I'm not an apple hater.



    Mobile Me feels like AOL from the early 2000s.
Sign In or Register to comment.