In case you haven’t checked it out, Apple just launched a MobileMe status page, with regular blogs from company representatives with the sole purpose of keeping its users up to date on the latest steps that the behemoth company is taking to rectify the problems with its software. MobileMe was one of the main features that customers who purchased the iPhone 3G were relying on to get the most out of their new toy. It integrates programs like Mail and Calendar across Apple’s various products, including iPhones and Mac computers. The site, which can be accessed by clicking here, has received a high amount of traffic from around the Mac world as iPhone enthusiasts check back day by day to learn what actions Apple is taking to turn MobileMe into a success.
You can’t go anywhere today without someone poking fun at Apple’s debacle that has been MobileMe. Turn on Jay Leno or David Letterman (both late-night talk show hosts in case you’ve never heard of either). Read any Mac news site that you can think of (including MacPoker.net) and the shots against MobileMe are there.
The latest update comes as 1% of MobileMe users were unable to access their e-mail. While this may not seem like a large number, when you multiply that times the millions of MobileMe subscribers, the lay of the land becomes pretty grim. An issue with the mail server was the culprit in the glitch and Apple claims it has “people working 24-7 to improve matters, and we’re going to favor getting you new info hot off the presses even if we have to post corrections or further updates later.” In addition, the latest blog post written by David G. notes that MobileMe now has “full email history (minus the approximately 10% of mail received between July 16 and July 18 which may have been lost) and the ability to access email from a Mac, PC and iPhone, to over 40% of these users, and expect the remainder to be restored in the next few days.”
When MobileMe launched initially, a number of customers were unable to access any of its features, including e-mail, contacts, image galleries, and event calendars. This caused many who had just made an effort to grab the iPhone 3G while it was brand new to become extremely irate. There were over 70 bugs reported with the MobileMe software initially, all of which have purportedly been cured by Apple tech gurus.
Apple’s stock has been punished in recent days, falling 7.72% on Monday alone. Traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol “AAPL,” Apple’s stock closed at $150.40. It is in the middle of its 52-week range, which includes a high of $202.96 and a low of $111.62. Apple has come under heavy fire as a result of the uncertain future of CEO Steve Jobs (who is also the visionary behind the Apple phenomenon) along with increased competition from other phone manufacturers such as Motorola. Even cell phone providers like Verizon Wireless have taken a shot at Apple by running commercials encouraging viewers to purchase a phone that looks very similar to an iPhone.
The bottom line is that Apple is at least making an effort to keep the public as informed as possible about the outages on MobileMe. We’ll also keep you as up to date as possible here at MacPoker.net.