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  (Source: Reuters)
You can say one thing for Apple's MobileMe team -- they realize nothing says "sorry" like something free

Apple is known for developing stylish and intuitive products.  Among these well working products was its .Mac service which simplified web hosting, email, and online storage for Mac users.  So when the new MobileMe service was rolled out as essentially a free replacement upgrade to the .Mac service, the over 100,000 users of the service were thrilled.

The following months yielded nothing but disappointment to the service's many users.  The quality was so abysmal many users couldn’t even login and a majority of components were broken.  Multiple times Apple wrote apologies to customers and issued them free service for a month, while proclaiming that the problems had been fixed.  And each time more problems piled on.

It became so bad that recently Apple CEO Steve Jobs himself personally apologized on behalf of Apple and said that the service had not been living up to Apple quality.  He alluded to "shakeups" of the MobileMe team, indicating someone might be getting canned.

So did the problems get fixed?  Somewhat, but many critical problems still persist and many users continue to have difficulty with the service.  The MobileMe team yesterday rolled out another apology note.  The latest note reads:

We have already made many improvements to MobileMe, but we still have many more to make. To recognize our users' patience, we are giving every MobileMe subscriber as of today a free 60 day extension. This is in addition to the one month extension most subscribers have already received. We are working very hard to make MobileMe a great service we can all be proud of. We know that MobileMe's launch has not been our finest hour, and we truly appreciate your patience as we turn this around. Read this article for more details.

The MobileMe Team

Anyone that obtained MobileMe service before August 19, 2008 0:00 is eligible for the free two months.  Apple even hopes to lure more customers aboard the MobileMe ship by offering those currently in a free trial another two months free.

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Ouch
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 8/19/2008 9:04:07 AM , Rating: 2
Not one month free but now a total of three? The problem must be worse than originally expected if it's still having plenty of problems and they are having to give more freebies out to satisfy people.




RE: Ouch
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 8/19/2008 9:07:48 AM , Rating: 5
Apple + Multiple Freebies does not compute :)


RE: Ouch
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 8/19/2008 9:16:16 AM , Rating: 2
In the case of the original iPhone there were some heavy metal strings attached..... This looks not quite as bad.


RE: Ouch
By dcalfine on 8/19/2008 9:20:44 AM , Rating: 3
I agree. I was one of the people who bought the iPhone when it was $600 and I had a .Mac account that was automatically transitioned into a MobileMe account. The iPhone was more of an outrage. I think MobileMe needs work, but whether it's a $100 gift certificate or three months of extra service, Apple has made sure that I return as a customer. Dag, yo!


RE: Ouch
By omnicronx on 8/19/2008 9:33:49 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
I think MobileMe needs work, but whether it's a $100 gift certificate or three months of extra service, Apple has made sure that I return as a customer. Dag, yo!
I have absolutely no problem with Apple products, for me they just cost too much and that is a personal preference. But terrible service is a red flag for me regardless of who makes the product.

My I ask what exactly makes Apple so appealing when its becoming pretty obvious that their overly expensive products, don't always 'just work'. I am not trying to call anyone out here, I just don't understand why an apology and a gift card is more than enough (or in the case of the iphone 3g, an apology and a promise for a software upgrade that probably wont do anything), but a company like Microsoft extending their warranty to 3 years and giving out a billion dollars worth of xbox 360's is blasphemous. (not defending MS, they royally f'd up, just making a point).


RE: Ouch
By dcalfine on 8/19/2008 9:45:31 AM , Rating: 2
And I understand the point you're making.

MobileMe is something that you can only really appreciate if you've complete bought into Apple, which I admit I have. It syncs your contacts from Apple's Address Book, it syncs your calendars from Apple's iCal, it syncs your mail rules from Apple's Mail, it syncs your bookmarks from Safari, iDisk and Back to my Mac built into Mac OS X… it's hard to own a Mac and an iPhone but not have a MobileMe subscription. The only people Apple is letting down here are loyal customers. The reason why I haven't gotten off the merry-go-round is because I haven't had any major issues with MobileMe. I guess I've been lucky: the only problem I had was a ten-hour outage when they transitioned my account from .Mac to MobileMe. But if I start getting half the problems mentioned in this article, I'll be using my Gmail for a few months.


RE: Ouch
By afkrotch on 8/19/2008 10:10:14 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
it's hard to own a Mac and an iPhone but not have a MobileMe subscription.


It's hard to pay for a service that Microsoft gives out for free. Get a Smartphone/PDA and Windows. The two can sync up together and do it for the low low price of FREE. ActiveSync will sync up with Windows Mobile, Windows CE, PalmOS, and Symbian.

Also doesn't the iPhone sync up via iTunes? Or do they screw you up the butt and only let you sync up a small list of items? If that's the case, then the truly stupid ppl pay for MobileMe and do it happily.


RE: Ouch
By dcalfine on 8/19/2008 10:29:31 AM , Rating: 2
What? Yes, they screw me up the butt. What the hell are you talking about?

Syncing via iTunes works fine. MobileMe is Apple's Exchange/ActiveSync. Exchange costs a lot of money. A LOT of money. And Exchange wasn't exactly perfect when it came out, either.

MobileMe has 20GB of email storage and web hosting, you know. And offers support for up to ten email aliases. The features that aren't working so well are just a few of the important features that make MobileMe worthwhile.

Don't start mindlessly bashing Apple when you don't know what you're talking about. Apple may not always be right, but you aren't either in this case.


RE: Ouch
By afkrotch on 8/19/2008 10:48:14 AM , Rating: 4
quote:
Syncing via iTunes works fine. MobileMe is Apple's Exchange/ActiveSync. Exchange costs a lot of money. A LOT of money. And Exchange wasn't exactly perfect when it came out, either.


You can use ActiveSync with Windows Live Mail. Free. Connect Live Mail up to Hotmail. That's unlimited storage on your machine or 5 gb online free. Windows Live Spaces 5 gb free storage.

quote:
The features that aren't working so well are just a few of the important features that make MobileMe worthwhile.

quote:
Don't start mindlessly bashing Apple when you don't know what you're talking about.


If it's the important features that make MobileMe worthwhile are broken, then that doesn't exactly make it mindless to start bashing, does it?


RE: Ouch
By omnicronx on 8/19/2008 11:05:17 AM , Rating: 2
I have to agree with the afk here, ActiveSync and Vista's 'Mobile Device Center' are both free, automatically sync when you either attach it to USB or you have bluetooth activated, and it can be sync'd with your outlook email and calendar.

You can also use pretty much any IMAP or POP email account on the phone to access your email, which does not require syncing at all... not that the same can't be done on the iphone with 3rd party google apps (for gmail atleast).. but its not integrated.


RE: Ouch
By dcalfine on 8/19/2008 11:13:40 AM , Rating: 2
I use Exchange and ActiveSync at work and it does indeed work as it ought to. But it's not very elegant, nor is it user-friendly.


RE: Ouch
By omnicronx on 8/19/2008 11:31:56 AM , Rating: 2
And this is why vista introduced the Mobile Device Center, which is the activesync replacement. If you have ever used it you would agree that its pretty user friendly, and far more aesthetically pleasing than activesync.


RE: Ouch
By robinthakur on 8/20/2008 10:47:03 AM , Rating: 2
I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. iPhones owners can't use the activesync without an exchange server, and if the requirement for all this free functionality is having to use a Windows Mobile 'smart' phone they can keep their active sync. I'd rather have my arms cut off than use a Windows device ever again. Having owned several HTC phones i'd never be tempted back, no matter what the specs or glowing reviews on the web might tell me about handset x being an 'iPhone-killer' Having to use a tiny pen to push tiny buttons, the handwriting recognition/on screen keyboard and wireless connectivity which was very flaky (*Far* more dropped 3G calls than the iPhone 3G on my HTC TYTN, which was unusable unless it was set to GSM-only, and the WLan only successfully worked twice the whole time I owned it) To appreciate the overhyped iPhone you really need to look at where the competition is. Or where it isn't more specifically...

Anyway, the iPhone syncs automatically when you connect it via USB (no bluetooth or wifi yet, sadly) with contacts, email accounts etc. Gmail integrates fine with the mail button on my iPhone, and pulls down all the mail with a minimum of fuss. How's that not integrated or am I missing something here?

Having said that I've not bought into Apple so much that I'd pay for Mobile Me (even if it wasn't anecdotally broken) as it just seems unnecessary. If you owned a Mac as well and Macbooks then it makes more sense. Once its working. Aha.


RE: Ouch
By djc208 on 8/20/2008 7:47:01 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
It syncs your contacts from Apple's Address Book, it syncs your calendars from Apple's iCal, it syncs your mail rules from Apple's Mail, it syncs your bookmarks from Safari, iDisk and Back to my Mac built into Mac OS X


You mean it would if it worked.


RE: Ouch
By kelmon on 8/19/2008 10:23:00 AM , Rating: 2
I think it all rather depends on whether you've actually experienced a problem. So far the only impact I've had from the MobileMe launch fiasco is that I couldn't access my email via my browser much during the first couple of weeks. This wasn't a major issue for me as email continued to work fine over IMAP and just meant that I couldn't read private email at work, which I shouldn't be anyway.

Personal experience is key. If you were one of the users who depended on webmail access and couldn't get your email then I can appreciate that the outages would have been a major problem. A lot has been made about the MobileMe launch but my personal annoyances have been due to the Airport Extreme router and OS X Leopard at launch. It's more annoying that I didn't receive any compensation for those products than the MobileMe outages.

With respect to the Microsoft aspect, it very much depends on how much of an impact a service failure has on you and how long that service failure lasts for. The 360 deserves a lot of flack because if your console dies then it takes quite a long time to get it repaired and running again. In this case the customer is unlikely to be happy for an extended period of time and the 3 year warranty isn't something tangible that compensates for the loss.

Finally, it's worth noting that Apple's stuff used to "just work" but the sad fact is that less of it "just works" now. I don't know if this is because the company is having difficulties trying to keep up with demand for new products and the expectations of shareholders and analysts, or if something else is to blame.


RE: Ouch
By michael2k on 8/19/2008 2:40:35 PM , Rating: 1
Appeal for their products even when they don't always "just work"?
1) When they do work, they work better
2) When they don't work, they STILL work better (than competitors when they don't work)
3) When they do work, but not "just work", they are still better than competitors

The XBox 360 is a case of hardware failure; the iPhone is a case of intermittent failure. When the iPhone works, it is awesome (I've never had mine not work though). When it fails, you wait a moment and try again (since it isn't broken).

When the XBox RRODs, it stops working. It shouldn't stop working in the first place, because if it does it is defective and needs to be replaced.


RE: Ouch
By omnicronx on 8/19/2008 3:19:49 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
When it fails, you wait a moment and try again (since it isn't broken).
Actually the 3G is broken, I consider dropped calls, and not receiving text messages and network drops as a result of untested hardware broken.

I don't think you realize how many people have reverted back to the edge network, because 3g has been a nightmare for them. If you really consider people paying 10$ a month more for a service they cannot use acceptable, then I do not know what is unacceptable.

My point about the RROD was not whether or not it is better or worse than this situation, my point is that MS even paid out a billion dollars to fix things, publically apologized, and pretty much fixed the problem. Iphone 3g users have basically been told that they are shit out of luck, and that apple will release a software update that will 'help' fix some of the issues. Yet Apple still probably gained more customers than they lost in the past few weeks.


RE: Ouch
By omnicronx on 8/19/2008 3:57:01 PM , Rating: 2
Go to love how people think I am making fun of their precious iphones, even though I have blatantly said that it is the best phone available.

Face it, the 3g sucks compared to the original (minus the GPS which I really like), you don't need to cry about it..


RE: Ouch
By robinthakur on 8/20/2008 10:34:59 AM , Rating: 2
The 3G works fine for me with no dropped calls and no lost text messages, so for me its certainly not broken.


RE: Ouch
By sprockkets on 8/19/2008 3:39:54 PM , Rating: 2
Kinda like sex and documentation, huh?

When it's good, it's really good. When it is bad, well, it is better than nothing at all.


RE: Ouch
By kelmon on 8/19/2008 10:07:59 AM , Rating: 2
To be honest, I was rather surprised to receive another 2-months of free service since MobileMe has been fine for me since about 2-weeks after the original launch/flop. I think the only bit still missing is the iDisk file sharing feature that was supposed to allow you to email a link to a file you'd uploaded. No idea when that is coming or why it's still not there. Apart from that the only complaint I have is the crappy upload rate that I get at home but I suspect that my ISP is to blame for that.

Still, I'm not going to complain about an extra 2 free months of use.


RE: Ouch
By ATC on 8/19/2008 11:34:38 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
The problem must be worse than originally expected if it's still having plenty of problems and they are having to give more freebies out to satisfy people.

That's the weird thing, I've had minor issues for a total of 48 hours when the service was first launched (transition from .mac to mobileme) but it's been great since and before the launch. Can't complain about the 90 day extension.


apology ratio
By omnicronx on 8/19/08, Rating: 0
RE: apology ratio
By dcalfine on 8/19/2008 9:32:47 AM , Rating: 2
"Jumping ship" is not very practical; Apple makes sure you stay hooked. Sooner or later they'll get it sorted out. And though the issues I've had with the service have been minor (though there shouldn't have been any at all) when the bugs get sorted out I expect the service to be worth the wait. I suppose I could use my gmail account in the mean time and cancel my MobileMe service, but when it works, I really do like it. Steve promised MobileMe users that it will be working perfectly by December. If that doesn't hold true, I just might drop my account altogether and, hell, I'd demand my money back.


RE: apology ratio
By omnicronx on 8/19/2008 9:41:15 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
And though the issues I've had with the service have been minor (though there shouldn't have been any at all) when the bugs get sorted out I expect the service to be worth the wait.
I can't say I have ever heard anyone say anything of the sort for other big players in the industry.

In the business world, if a company can not deliver, they don't get paid, and they have their contract nullified or they take a pay cut if they are lucky enough to keep any business at all.
quote:
If that doesn't hold true, I just might drop my account altogether and, hell, I'd demand my money back.
Good! I only wish more people like you existed, although I have never used or seen the .mac or mobileme services, I imagine they are pretty user friendly and easy to use, but if they can not deliver fixes in a timely fashion, in my opinion they do not deserve anyone's business.


RE: apology ratio
By afkrotch on 8/19/2008 10:12:45 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Good! I only wish more people like you existed, although I have never used or seen the .mac or mobileme services, I imagine they are pretty user friendly and easy to use, but if they can not deliver fixes in a timely fashion, in my opinion they do not deserve anyone's business.


Huh? You wish more ppl like him existed? Ones that are willing to pay for a broken service until Dec, when they fix it. If I was in charge of Apple, I wish more stupid ppl like that existed too.


RE: apology ratio
By omnicronx on 8/19/2008 10:24:45 AM , Rating: 2
If you read his posts he had said he personally he has not had any of these problems, so why would he stop using it? He also said that if he ever did have these kinds of problems he would jump ship... which is something you do not hear every day (or ever) from an Apple user...


RE: apology ratio
By afkrotch on 8/19/2008 10:37:36 AM , Rating: 2
Yes, but Apple will probably be pushing attempted fixes throughout, that could break the services. He also stated that they said it would be fixed by Dec and if it isn't, then he'd jump ship. So if his service breaks between now and Dec, that he'd live with it broken until Dec.


RE: apology ratio
By robinthakur on 8/20/2008 10:58:32 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
which is something you do not hear every day (or ever) from an Apple user...


Umm they're Apple users but they're bill payers first and foremost, and a shambolic service will be enough to erase any goodwill the brand might have fostered for most people, whether they're Apple users or people who had their Xboxes blow up. :^D


RE: apology ratio
By psychobriggsy on 8/19/2008 9:33:57 AM , Rating: 2
I think it's a case of the software developers who would have known it wasn't ready not being confident enough because of the Apple corporate culture to actually get this message up the chain of command to a place where it would have been noted, and the launch put off.

This was a major cockup for Apple, but I think they needed one. I hope for their customers' sakes that they have now fixed the data loss issues and service downtime issues.


RE: apology ratio
By Chaser on 8/19/2008 9:38:49 AM , Rating: 2
I'm sure the millions of Iphone owners are devastated by the malfunction and failure of this major Iphone feature and selling point.


RE: apology ratio
By omnicronx on 8/19/2008 9:46:58 AM , Rating: 3
What does this have to do with anything? A bad product is a bad product.. defending it only proves my point..

I think the iphone is a great device, definitely the best phone out there, and it will revolutionize the industry, but what does Apple have to do to lose customers? Go door to door giving everyone an iSLAP to the face? Oh wait.. that will probably catch on too..


RE: apology ratio
By Icelight on 8/19/2008 10:12:03 AM , Rating: 2
I'll never understand how people can claim, with certainty, that the iPhone is the best phone on the market...


RE: apology ratio
By omnicronx on 8/19/2008 10:22:25 AM , Rating: 2
Because right now it is.. This coming from a loyal HTC user, which is probably their best competition. Best browser by far (yes that includes opera mini and mobile), seamless transitions from program to program, biggest screen, and its the only multi touch phone on the market. Other big players will catch up, but right now it is leaps and bounds in front of the competition, especially with windows mobile 7 not being released until 2009 and googles android with no definitive completion date.


RE: apology ratio
By Chaser on 8/19/2008 10:30:22 AM , Rating: 2
I agree completely with Omni. I've owned/tried numerous "smart" phones. I am a loyal PC type and don't care much for anything Apple. But take Apple's legacy of designing "user friendly" and intuitive products, and place that on top of one of the best audio and digital personal players available and you get one incredible phone.

The competition is scrambling to come up with an "Iphone killer". Verizon's Dare, Sprint's instinct are decent but they aren't close to the Iphone.


RE: apology ratio
By noirsoft on 8/19/2008 4:25:50 PM , Rating: 2
That's your opinion. In my equally valid opinion, my 2+ year old WM5 device is superior to the iPhone. What is insulting is the smug insistence that the iPhone is superior as if that was some sort of fact and not personal opinion.


RE: apology ratio
By omnicronx on 8/19/2008 4:52:51 PM , Rating: 2
Let me break it down for you..

Pros:
Multi touch screen
Larger Screen
Higher quality screen

Best mobile internet browser (I have used them all, from modified pocket IE, to opera mini, to opera mobile, skyfire, minimo.. you get the point..)

Fastest, most responsive and easy to use interface.(and its no contest here, even new phones like the HTC diamond are dinosaurs compared to the responsiveness of the iphone.

central application repository: pretty much self explanatory,
No roaming site to site looking for the latest and greatest apps.

Cons:
Only has exchange support on 3G iphone, closed system so you can not install anything you want, cant remove battery.. pretty much it..

Conclusion: I am a big geek so I love my WM phone, but I still can not neglect the power and ease of use of the iphone.
It seriously knocked its competitors into gear, and lucky for the consumer, within the next few years we are going to get some great new phones. The fact remains that the iphone is pretty much better all around, and this is coming from someone who has their PPC customized to the tits. Will I buy one? no.. but thats personal preference, but that does not make my phone better in terms of functionality and ease of use.


RE: apology ratio
By noirsoft on 8/19/2008 7:14:50 PM , Rating: 2
To which I respond that the tactile keyboard on my Verizon XV6700 makes it better than the iPhone for that feature alone. That's my opinion.

I will grant that the web browser on the iPhone is better than the one on my 2-year old device, but everything else is a matter of opinion as to which is "better" I personally feel that a selection of competing software stores, carriers and models is an advantage of the WM platform over the apple platform.

I'm not saying that you have to agree with me. What I'm saying is that it's wrong to say that I have to agree with you.


RE: apology ratio
By omnicronx on 8/19/2008 10:18:29 PM , Rating: 2
Funny.. I have the exact same phone...


RE: apology ratio
By afkrotch on 8/20/2008 2:30:56 AM , Rating: 2
Japan just needs to start releasing their phones outside of Japan. God I love NTT Docomo phones. I'm seriously considering buying another one and getting the worldwide service over something like the iPhone.


RE: apology ratio
By michael2k on 8/20/2008 1:18:41 PM , Rating: 2
Except we already have the "better" phone. Read on for more from a former Docomo exec on why the iPhone is better than most Japanese phones and how the iPhone is a big hit locally.

http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080...
http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/08/08/kddi...


RE: apology ratio
By Chaser on 8/19/2008 10:23:24 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
I think the iphone is a great device, definitely the best phone out there...


We agree on that :)

So do you know how many Iphone owners this is impacting?


RE: apology ratio
By michael2k on 8/19/2008 3:13:36 PM , Rating: 2
Uh, I would jump ship if I found a competing service that could replace it, you know?
1) 20GB storage
2) Web galleries of pictures and movies
3) Personal websites
4) Offsite backup

I can piecemeal here and there, but not all together and not as cleanly. For example:
http://web.me.com/michael2k/KISS/The_Home_Hub/The_...
That took my wife 10 minutes to start up, and 10 minutes a day to update (the time it takes to write an article)
http://gallery.me.com/michael2k
That takes close to no effort for me, though I can replicate it with Picasa and PicasaWeb, though I only get 1GB free. 10GB costs $20, and I still don't have a replacement for iWeb. Sandvox, which is pretty close, costs $49 and I still need a server somewhere. For $50 a year I can get Google Sites, which is similar to Me in that you get mail, calendar, and 10GB storage.

So in the end I can switch to:
Picasaweb/Picasa/Sites for $70 a year, plus Sandvox for $49 (one time) and iDrive for 2gb free ($50 for 150GB).

So if Picasaweb/Picasa/Sites/Sandvox were all as easy as Apple's stuff, then $70 is a no-brainer. But my past experience (before marriage and kids) tells me that the time spent to set up is more than an hour (as opposed to minutes), and that makes the value proposition null. In order to save $30 I would need to spend about four hours to set it all up (software, sites, preferences, etc).


RE: apology ratio
By omnicronx on 8/19/2008 3:50:58 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Uh, I would jump ship if I found a competing service that could replace it, you know?
If it works for you then, obviously you have no problem, but what about the countless others complaining about things that just plain do not work.

Its pretty obvious to me that you use this service, are you seriously telling me that if half of the service did not work, that even though there is no substitute you would sit there twiddling your thumbs? The service came with your iphone, thus you paid for it, so that 70$ really does not too bad, if it works.


RE: apology ratio
By robinthakur on 8/20/2008 10:55:03 AM , Rating: 2
Do you have first-hand experience of the problems with Mobile-Me OmnicronX? The people on here that do have experience of the problems seem not to be too bothered about it (discounting the fact that they are regular Apple defenders of the faith), however your bashing of the product without having used it is just like people slagging off Vista vs XP and that Mojave experiment MS did. I greatly suspect that the standards we have as PC users (i.e. We're more than happy to tinker until it works) is generally not typical of Apple users and therefore the problems on it seem much worse than they actually are. Regardless users should always get the service which they paid for. I'm sure the ones that arend't getting this are kicking up a stink, hence Apple making all sorts of unusually apologetic noises.=:)


WTF
By afkrotch on 8/19/2008 9:58:38 AM , Rating: 2
Maybe it's just me, but WTF is the point of giving free service for a service that is broken?

It's like having Hertz giving you a month of free car rental for a car that has flat tires, broken windshield, and blow engine.

Giving free broken service doesn't mean much.




RE: WTF
By BruceLeet on 8/19/2008 10:16:59 AM , Rating: 2
Means alot more than paying for cheap broken service


RE: WTF
By kelmon on 8/19/2008 10:29:56 AM , Rating: 2
Depends on what your definition of "broken" is. As noted in my other posts, my own experience of the issue is that I couldn't access webmail a few times during the first couple of weeks. Aside from that the service seems to be working OK so the hyperbole in your analogy isn't correct.


RE: WTF
By LatinMessiah on 8/19/2008 1:21:23 PM , Rating: 2
You're definition of broken implies that the iPhone has a broken screen, a dead cpu, and no battery, which is not the case.


RE: WTF
By omnicronx on 8/19/2008 3:11:11 PM , Rating: 2
Its the only way to sync your email and other information on your iphone.. why on earth you only consider hardware as something that is breakable is beyond me, and in this day and age is just not the case. What would the ipod be without itunes for Apple? Software is half of your product if it heavily depends upon it, just ask hardware vendors like VIA how much software and drivers can mean.. well you could if they didn't just stop developing chipsets..(hint hint)

I understand that syncing information is not important to everyone, but too many people it is, and its been months now since the problems arose and there is still not a fix, this is completely unacceptable.


RE: WTF
By afkrotch on 8/20/2008 2:59:37 AM , Rating: 2
Pretty much spot on here. If my Zune couldn't sync to my comp, it might as well be broken into 50 pieces. I don't have a smartphone currently cause they're all expensive hunks of crap compared to my old Docomo P901is. Only thing I was missing was touchscreen and I don't need that.

Most of the stuff I did on my phone was SMS and email. Not being able to sync up to my email contacts would annoy the hell out of me. It's either that or spend an hour adding in all my contacts.

After that, contacts don't change much. For me at least.


RE: WTF
By robinthakur on 8/20/2008 11:05:26 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Its the only way to sync your email and other information on your iphone


This is utter nonsense. Please don't speak authoratively on things which you don't understand. iTunes is all that is needed to sync your iPhone with outlook (including Gmail accounts etc)

If someone as intelligent as you thinks this is the case, I'm slightly shocked...Dud if my iPhone couldn't sync without a paid for subscription service I would drop kick it to the curb.


Speeeellings
By robinthakur on 8/19/08, Rating: 0
RE: Speeeellings
By Fnoob on 8/19/2008 9:11:39 AM , Rating: 2
looks more like he just pulled his head out of his ass...


RE: Speeeellings
By dcalfine on 8/19/2008 9:25:15 AM , Rating: 2
He made that move when his clicker stopped working during a keynote. He told the story about how he sort of pulled a Gizmodo back in the 70s where he and 'Woz' built a remote that would change the channel on the TV and somehow get his friends to move into weird positions. Stupid.


RE: Speeeellings
By tmouse on 8/19/2008 12:30:08 PM , Rating: 2
I see, I thought he was preparing to check him self for a hernia while simultaneously performing a prostate exam.


RE: Speeeellings
By maven81 on 8/19/2008 5:57:48 PM , Rating: 2
Actually... has anyone else here seen "tropic thunder?" I swear tom cruise in that movie is channeling Jobs heh.


What works?
By mlmoorex on 8/19/2008 7:17:39 PM , Rating: 2
Apple, it just works. LOL




RE: What works?
By LatinMessiah on 8/19/2008 8:14:15 PM , Rating: 2
Or...

Apple, let's just hope it works.


Jobs Grabbing His N*ts??
By phazers on 8/19/2008 1:34:38 PM , Rating: 3
That's a great pic - too bad they don't use that one on the Mac vs. PC ads. That pic alone should drop the Apple 'coolness' factor by 90% or more :)




a
By wwwebsurfer on 8/19/2008 12:52:42 PM , Rating: 2
I think the disconnect here between the WINmobile crowd and the iCrowd is not the feature set or the capabilities of the software. It's that the win crowd gets it all for FREE. F-R-E-E. When it doesn't work or doesn't look like 5 million man-hours were put into the aesthetics we all whine and complain, but it still works, consistently, for FREE.

Mac users pay, and it still doesn't work. Thinking of the windows home server fiasco, win users just quit buying the product. However at this point mac users still keep on buying it up like it's crack cocaine. It makes no sense to pay for a product that does not work as advertised, and to KEEP paying for it.




Phew...
By LatinMessiah on 8/19/2008 5:49:45 PM , Rating: 2
I feel like the luckiest man in the world by not buying an iPhone 3G when it first came out. 2 years of this kind of crappy service at a premium price? No thanks.




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