MobileMess weighs on Apple shares

"MobileMe is Apple's foray into so-called 'cloud computing' in which information stored on a computer server, or cloud, can be updated via any device linked to the cloud. Once one device is used to update information, then all devices connected directly or wirelessly to the cloud are updated. It's one of the company's main initiatives to expand the reach of its 3G iPhone," Rex Crum reports for MarketWatch.

"The MobileMe service includes email, a calendar and contacts, Web-based photo galleries and 20 gigabytes of storage, and works with both Apple's Macintosh PCs and Windows-based PCs, along with the iPhone and iPod Touch," Crum reports.

"Apple launched MobileMe the same day it rolled out the new iPhone, and almost immediately, the company became deluged with complaints about service disruptions and lost emails as Apple transferred members of its older .Mac service to MobileMe and added new iPhone customers to the service," Crum reports.

"Analysts that follow Apple say the MobileMe issue is important because since the company is putting so much on the line with the iPhone, it needs to show it can offer a consistent, reliable service for consumers that want mobile access to all of their important data," Crum reports.

"Shiv Bakhshi of IDC said that Apple is experiencing some of the growing pains that are common when a company first enters a business segment," Crum reports. "'Apple isn't used to the mobile-platform market, so this is new to them,' he added. 'They may have underestimated the scale and pressure of that new customer base.'"
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