“As widely predicted, Steve Jobs this week introduced at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference the iPhone… But, you know what was the REAL big news in Jobs’ keynote? Not his apparent poor health, which I have to admit concerns plenty of people, and for good reason. No, the big news was MobileMe, Apple’s Microsoft Killer,” Robert X. Cringely writes for PBS.com.
“Microsoft’s success is based on two products and only two products — Windows and Office. Microsoft is obsessed with the idea that Google will undermine one or both of those monopolies through Google Apps. This is all Steve Ballmer thinks about and is what made him so eager to spend $40+ billion for Yahoo,” Cringely writes. “But what if the real threat isn’t Google at all, but Apple?”
“Nearly everyone who tries it is going to LOVE MobileMe, which Apple — calling it “Microsoft Exchange for the rest of us” — will madly market to small and medium-sized businesses, of which there are six million in the U.S. alone. Those outfits will buy iPhones, MobileMe accounts, and eventually Macs and MacBooks for their workers. IPhone enterprise customers will do the same. Organizations that find Google Apps too hard to use (have you actually tried to build a wiki using Google Sites? I have and it is HARD – far worse than using JotSpot, from which Sites supposedly evolved) or aren’t big enough for Exchange will buy MobileMe instead and never look back” Cringely writes. “And that’s just in the U.S. What about those other 69 countries that will have iPhone service by the end of the year and the 62 that will allow Apple’s App Store?”
“Steve Jobs is brilliant and patient. He has a plan and is executing on it to perfection. Bill Gates couldn’t pick a better time to retire and let someone else take the fall,” Cringely writes.
Much more in the full article here.
Having discussed this mobileme here, it is clear that the target for mobileme service is consumers and small businesses. In other words, those who don’t know or want to set up a server (Exchange, IMAP, Lotus Notes, GroupWise, whatever) for typical workgroup services (email, calendar, to do, notes, contacts…). If you have a company, and your company has a data centre, and in that data centre you have your workgroup collaboration software (Exchange, Notes, etc), you have no need or MobileMe.
For everyone else, MobileMe is the perfect solution. So many people (individuals), as well as small companies use G-mail or Yahoo calendars and e-mail for collaborative scheduling. MobileMe will offer so much more.
This is another game changer.
IKON: “Ballmer should have some chairs at hand when he falls.”
Better that he takes chairs down with him when he falls than people.
I think 84 Mac Guy is on to something….
Just because you are using a mobileme account doesn’t mean you have to use the name@me.com address. I have been using a yahoo account for my email so I can get push email to my iphone but noone knows my yahoo address.
I have a own a domain hosted by godaddy and all email addresses created are just aliases that forward me@mydomain.com to my yahoo address. All mail sent from my iphone are sent as me@mydomain.com also.
I tried to get the email address “hereslooking@me.com” right after the keynote, but someone else had already snagged it. Then .mac went offline.
These columnists are spanking themselves over the fact that Apple is even barely touching (no pun intended) the enterprise market. Next you’ll hear cries about a forthcoming cheapo Mac enterprise box from these geniuses. I’ll be sure to laugh hardily when it doesn’t happen, because it’ll NEVER happen.
@macfan101
“Really, if anything, MobileMe is most closely competing with Google, not Microsoft”
And just who do you think that Microsoft is worried about????
I think the key here is that Apple does not kiss all the little “I want it free, now, the way I like it ” butts cause they hate spending money. Sure they bought an Apple product but they want all else free.
Like R.X.C says ( I so cannot believe I am saying this
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> ) “these companies are going to buy iPhones, mobile.me, …. macs”.
Winning is when everyone is either on your side or wishes they were on your side. LOL
en
Google offers Enterprise email and calendaring for $50 per user per year. I have a little more faith in Google’s email than Apple’s based on experience.
Anybody know what MS charges per seat of Exchange for a year? Do they have unlimited users or do they charge companies based on how many users the mail server has?
And on that topic… would it not be a simple thing for Apple to create a software solution for OS X Server to let small businesses create thier own MobileMe server.
Mobile MiniMe..?
I’m sure Vern Troyer wouldn’t mind doing another Apple commercial.
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MobileMe has great potential, but only if Apple does something radically different with their servers. With the relatively simple .Mac service [which is technically simpler than what they’ve announced for MobileMac], the service is unavailable for significant periods of time. Sure, rebranding to get away from the .Mac reputation of being overpriced, slow, and unreliable will get people to buy it once. If MobileMe is as unreliable as .Mac is now, business’s sure as hell won’t be able to use it. And consumers will also hesitate to renew.
I hope I live long enough to see Apple kill off Microsoft.
I hope Microsoft’s death is long and painful.
Microsoft will survive long after the peak of its relevance. Kind of like U2.
Along with being in charge of Mobility I manage a large Exchange enviroment and these are two different products. One is consumer / small business attrative and Exchange is for companies who need total control of their email. It’s Microsoft so yeah there are CAL’s. Pricing varies based on your setup, if you include mobile devices (like the iphone) etc. it’s usually around $60 per user though there is volume discounts etc.
No Fortune 500 company is going to migrate to a web based email system. Most companies have all types of archving, monitoring regulation around electronic records so it’s not even possible.
MobileME is basically a hosted solution that if I was a small company / self employed professional that wanted Exchange type support sign up for link2exchnage or mailstreet.
loganson ……
“As stated above the domain name thing will limit acceptance. So many companies use “myname@companyname.com” for all their emails. Maybe Apple can create an alias system that allows these addresses to function on mobileme. Solve that one issue and I think things will be super.”
what part of ‘exchange for the rest of us’ do you not understand, you twat? us. US. people. not companies.
*dunks logan’s head in the toilet
*flushy flushy
Chrissyone,
Don’t be so sure … they almost dumped 50 billion for Yahoo…
*shudder
Can you say MS Paint with Multi tou– er… ActiveTouch Live 2011?
…I hope I live long enough to see…Microsoft’s death…
Yeah, Karma needs to ‘level’ MS. .. … ….
…Microsoft will survive long after the peak of its relevance…
MS’s energy is hogging its fair share of lifeforce, kinda like vampires.
…U2…
‘Across the Universe’ was ‘interesting’, UNTIL I saw ‘he who shall not be named’.
I own a small business and we will be adding mobileme.
This is exactly what small and medium businesses have been crying out for from mIcrosoft but never gave us.
Small businesses cannot afford Microsofts prices for exchange services and Apple has really filled that gap.
All Apple needs to do now is launch a business mobileme package, based on number of employees.
This service is going to revolutionise my business communications and we cant wait for this service to be launched in July.
We already all have iPhones – so roll on July!
Pete Burrows
MD, pBd
If Apple follows the .Mac service template then you will be able to use your own domain. I am using one for my .Mac account now ( at least for iWeb). I don’t see why they would not allow this for all the services.
I am short on the exact details, but I know that you can use your “personal” domain, or for a fee your enterprise domain, with google and gmail. I don’t see why Apple couldn’t/eventually wouldn’t do the same.