“Apple today notified resellers that it has discontinued the retail box version of MobileMe, shifting entirely to digital sales,” Eric Slivka reports for MacRumors. “Existing stocks of boxed MobileMe can continue to be sold while their supplies last.”
“,Apple is reportedly working on an overhaul of its MobileMe service, potentially looking to shift to a free offering that would provide users with ‘digital lockers’ for housing their music, photos, and videos” Slivka reports. “Consequently, the discontinuation of boxed MobileMe products could be paving the way for a sell-off of existing stock and a brief period of digital-only sales before transitioning to a free service.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn W.” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Apple: North Carolina data center for iTunes and MobileMe, due in spring – February 23, 2011
Apple patent application details cloud-based virtual safe deposit box – February 19, 2011
Apple’s plans for new MobileMe include ambitious cloud computing features – February 16, 2011
Apple’s MobileMe to offer personal streaming service between all your computers and devices? – February 14, 2011
Apple exploring major MobileMe revamp; considering making it free – February 14, 2011
Steve Jobs: MobileMe to ‘get a lot better in 2011’ – December 7, 2010
RUMOR: Apple to make MobileMe free – May 7, 2010
no more boxes will also prevent people from selling copies they got on ebay, which i liked cause you could save many dollars each year
They’re charging for Facetime of all things. What are the odds they give away Mobile Me?
…and it will make millions easily. I wasn’t delighted to see it happen this way. Good point though.
Makes me think they just may activate MobileMe through the Mac App Store somehow.
99¢ for FaceTime?
Why that’s highway robbery!
Will you ever recover?!?!?!!!!
I bought it with no hesitation. 😉
yes, i was just thinking how upset people are that FT is 99 cents, but there is also talk of mobileme becoming free! Do you know how much more mobileme is?
Good one LoL!
I just hope the free stuff (if it’s true) happens in the next 2 months. I’d hate to pay a renewal and then have it go free the next day.
:-/
@ed
Agreed! I’ve subscribed for two years now and gotten the family pack on eBay for me, my wife, and son for far less than the cost of an individual license at full retail price. If Mobile Me goes to being free, OK, but if I have to start paying the full $150 per year to renew, I will not be too pleased. Unfortunately, I’m pretty tied into it now, and switching to another syncing service like Google would be a pain.
My colleague has had a free trial since early January. She is wondering why she hasn’t heard from Apple about paying for the continuation after the trial. Could this lack of communication re the purchase of the service also indicate the imminent arrival of the new free MobileMe?
The free trial automatically converts to a paid subscription unless you cancel it before the trial ends.
Well, if she has only had it since January, it goes to automatic renewal in Feb and she probably hasnt seen her credit card statement from Febuary yet. Tell her to check her CC statement for Feb which will be arriving in March. I bet its on there.
So, if MobileMe goes FREE, does this mean I’ll get a refund for the 9+ months I have left on the $99 MobileMe subscription fee I paid in November?
I doubt it. I renewed on 5th January 2011, been a member since 2000.
Instead of a refund, I’d begrudgingly accept an iPad 2 🙂
My renewal hit yesterday 🙁 I, too, have had an account since 2000. Aah, the good old FREE days of iTools.
A refund *would* be nice, though, especially with my wife’s b-day and our anniversary coming up.
@MustangFive
Me too…I wonder how many people with old iTools accounts still use @mac.com instead of @me.com…I have always hated @me.com, and will always stay with @mac.com until they pry from my cold, dead hands
Sounds like MobileMe and the iPad 2 make good bedfellows.
i renewed early. I’m paid up until mid 2012.
I always liked PAYING to keep the ads out. so I hope this new free service is still ad free.
probably be free with their use of iAd. iAd is struggling to get advertisers, so this would be another way for apple to get them to join. Apple users could create their free website using mobile me. They would just have to accept an iAd banner in it
There was nothing in the MobileMe retail box but a registration code; the packaging was superfluous to the service itself. However, you could buy the retail box from Amazon (and others) at a discount of $30 or so. Looks like Apple will be cutting out resellers. Maybe they will make it more of a subscription model geared to the App Store.
If it improves, I have no problem paying to keep it ad free.
So, mine is good through June.
I’m wondering if I should buy the family plan from Amazon while still avaiable for cheap or gamble that it will be free, or have paid add-ons, or my aneurysm explodes….
I love when people complain over the cost of MobileMe at $99 per YEAR! give me a break! It is well worth it to me. Less than $10 a month….you have got to be kidding me.
Amen Bro………….
“free”
LOL! Yeah Apple’s really going to toss out a license to make money on something others must offer for free. This move is simple: it’s one more step toward taking software installation out of the hands of the user (you). You’ll have to buy only the latest *authorized* versions from the App Store. Expect the same for OS X soon, just like iOS. Say goodbye to your ability to choose the version of software you like best … or as they’ll assert – “pirate” … now *that’s* freedom!
it is still on there website. Go to the store, Mac, applications and it is still there for 99 bucks….
Mine renews on Wednesday the same day of the big event. Wonder how that will be handled?
It does not make sense that Mobile Me would become free. It costs Apple money to set up servers for users to back up their files to and I doubt that iTunes Store sales can subsidise such a thing. Perhaps some of Mobile Me could become free, or even mandatory for an iTunes Store account but users will still pay for the majority of features we enjoy today.
My timing will be just spot on! My renewal isn’t up until this fall! Here’s for hoping it’s going to become a free service for all of us premium Mac aficionados!
“… a brief period of digital-only sales before transitioning to a free service.”
We hope. I’ve saved at least $100 over many years NOT buying MobileMe over the net. The boxes have gone for dirt cheap over the years, particularly old versions of the box from previous years that are just as valid as current year boxes.
IOW: If Apple aren’t moving to free MobileMe, it’s customer gouging time. And that’s bad, m’K?
😥