Apple’s MobileMe service has had a rocky start, but it seems that things are starting to stabilize now. The company has been offering free trial periods of up to four months to affected users, which has helped to ease the frustration caused by the botched launch.

Personally, I haven’t had to deal with any of the teething problems since I signed up for my account a few days ago. However, this also means that I only have a 60-day trial period, which is a bit unfortunate.

The main complaint about MobileMe was that Apple marketed it as a perfect push solution for all platforms, but it turned out to be untrue. Apple quickly backtracked on their claims when they realized that Macs and PCs cannot do push with MobileMe. This is a big disappointment and it feels like Apple tried to get away with false advertising. Despite this, it will not affect the outcome of this review.

The registration process for MobileMe was quick and easy. You simply enter your personal details and billing information, and you’re good to go. However, some users faced issues when Apple charged the full service fee to credit and debit cards instead of just the $1 needed to verify the card. Hopefully, this issue has been resolved.

The Mail feature of MobileMe looks good and does the job at a basic level. You can send and receive emails, sort them into folders manually, flag messages, and forward them. However, it lacks a filtering system and basic rules functionality, which makes it unusable for anyone interested in productivity. The interface is well-designed and intuitive, with quick reply options that I find convenient. On the downside, it doesn’t have built-in Send As capability, which is disappointing considering the ample storage space of 10 GB.

Contacts on MobileMe are similar to Apple’s Address Book on Mac. It is pleasantly simple yet functional. The main advantage is that it keeps contacts synced across different devices, including Macs, PCs, and Windows Mobile phones. The desktop synchronization works seamlessly, but the push feature is limited to contacts between the iPhone and the cloud. This is a letdown for push lovers, as complete multi-directional push is not available on PCs or Macs.

As for the Calendar app, I don’t use it extensively, but the MobileMe version is similar to iCal on the desktop. It offers the same event entry functionality but lacks calendar subscriptions, which I find crucial. This means there are no options for sharing calendars or sending email invitations. For simple appointments, it works fine, but for collaborative calendars, Google’s option is better.

The Gallery app is a photo storage and sharing option. It’s not something I use often, but it works well with the iPhone and iPhoto. Uploading photos from these devices is easy and straightforward. The option to share albums or photos with others is convenient and requires minimal effort. However, if you want a public and social photo-sharing environment, Flickr is a better option.

Lastly, iDisk is quick and efficient on Mac, and the web interface is similar to the Finder interface. The preset folder structure is helpful, and overall, iDisk seems like a useful feature that I intend to use more in the future.

In conclusion, Apple’s MobileMe service has had its fair share of hiccups, but it seems to be improving. Despite some disappointments and limitations, the service offers decent functionality, especially for syncing contacts and accessing files through iDisk. With further improvements and bug fixes, MobileMe could become a reliable and efficient platform for Apple users.