|
mobileme is a bunch of features. $100 may not seem worth it however, especially given there are many other services out there that allow the same things for free. However, there is no all-in-one replacement for mobieme, but many of its features can be duplicated for free.
MobileMe account services:
An Individual subscription comes with 20GB of combined email and file storage, 200GB of monthly data transfer, and full access to everything MobileMe has to offer.
Sync contacts, calendar, mail:
Google sync allows this. You setup a mail profile using the microsoft exchange client. In return it syncs your contacts, calendar and mail to a google.com account. The catch is you need to 1) sign up for gmail, which is free, and 2) you need to configure your iphone and all your other programs (on your computers, for example) to sync to the gmail account. There are nice tutorials online for how to do this, and gmail gives you 10GB of storage data for emails, calendar, etc.
Online storage (iDisk):
Dropbox offers an app for the iphone that allows you to access your online 'cloud' of information stored in a dropbox.com server. You can store files, PDFs, music, movies, backups, etc, without restriction. In the iPhone app you mark a document to download to your phone where you can work on it, and when you're done it will re-upload it back to the cloud. The app even tells you when your local version is out of date with the online version and will resync (re-download) it. Downside is that you need to run an external app (getdropbox) to put files into the cloud. They give you 2GB for free, after that it is $10 a month for 50GB. That can be a little expensive, more than most other options, but they are new so if they take off prices may fall. If you need more than 2GB, try Mozy.com - $4.75 a month for unlimited storage. But keep in mind, you're often dealing with 3G transfer rates (or at best wifi often at work or home) so will you really be transferring more than 2GB to your iphone?
Photo gallery:
Flickr, Picasa, take your pick. Flickr works with Yahoo accounts very well. Picasa interfaces nicely with your gmail account that you setup for the email. They both give great features for creating web albums to share with friends. Free!
Mobile phone tracking (in case of loss or theft):
if your phone is jailbroken, you can get FindMyI from cydia for free. I haven't used it, but it says it is "GPS tracking for lost phones, and family. Runs in background".
It states: "This application runs on your phone, and contacts our website every configurable number of minutes. If you report the phone as "Stolen," the application starts sending its location to our servers, so you can track it (with google maps). We also offer interval-based tracking for family members. When tracked, it is impossible to change application settings. This software also helps for lost phones. How is this different from the alternative products?
- Runs in background
- Does NOT ask "would you like to allow findmyi to view your location" after setup.
- Configurable in all web browsers and in the application itself.
- Stealthy
- Receives minor updates without cydia/app store
- Not battery intensive. It checks if its stolen on an interval, and doesn't report its location unless it is being tracked.
- Does NOT require a thief to run an application (like private-i)
- Runs when phone is locked, or in "sleep" mode
- Reports its accuracy, so you know you're going to the right place.
Not sure how well it works, but its there in case you need it.
Remote wipe:
No substitue for mobileme.
While you could save $100 a year by using all these free services, there are some drawbacks. Things like the dropbox application need to be installed on your home/work computer so you can add files to the "cloud"; it doesn't just work via the web browser. The upshot to mobileme is that everything is all in one place, tied together, and work through the web browser. Of course $100 is $100, and there are plenty of other services offered for free that replicate 90% of mobileMe.
|
10-18-2009, 07:11 PM
Linear Mode
