Long after Apple launched MobileMe, they are starting to roll out a few new features that people have been longing for. If you’re already a user of the service, you can login to me.com/mail today, and you’ll be greeted by a small note at the bottom left of the screen asking you to “Request an invitation” if you’d like to participate in the beta. At some point soon, you’ll receive an email if you’re one of the chosen people.
One of the main features I’m most happy about them adding to the mix is Mail Rules. I’m a big user of rules in Mail.app on my main Mac, and it bugs the hell out of me that if I go out, then any email I get while I’m out is getting filtered as it should back home. This causes me to get no notification of the emails on the iPhone as they sit in a folder; it only seems to tell me of new mail which goes directly to the inbox. The only way I can find them is by browsing through my huge list of folders to see if any are marked. Is this just me, or a common problem everybody has with it? Because I’d like to know if I’ve missed part of the game somewhere…
So, I’ll be glad when this comes along, as long as I can sync all the rules I already have up to me.com, but from what their notes say, I don’t know if this will actually be possible. “Set them up at me.com, and your rules organize your incoming email on the web and everywhere else — on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and PC.”. Will have to wait and see, as I don’t fancy having to set them all up again online when they already exist.
Anyway, here’s a list showing some of the new features you can expect to see in the beta, and if you don’t get in then you’ll hopefully see them when they roll it out live to everyone.
Widescreen and compact views. When reading your mail at me.com, the new widescreen view lets you see more of each message with less scrolling. Choose compact view to hide your folders or classic view to see more of your message list.
Rules to keep your email organized everywhere. Mail rules help you reduce inbox clutter by automatically filing messages into folders you select ahead of time. Set them up at me.com, and your rules organize your incoming email on the web and everywhere else — on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and PC.
Single-click archiving. Click the Archive button and the selected message is quickly filed into the Archive folder where it’s always available for future reference.
Formatting toolbar. You can create great-looking email messages using formatting buttons to bold or italicize text, change font color, insert images, and more. You can even create formatted web links to hide long URLs.
Improved performance. Mail at me.com loads your inbox and messages faster. And with interface refinements such as the ability to scroll through your entire inbox without having to manually click to load the next set of messages, you’ll be able to work more efficiently.
Increased security with SSL. With the MobileMe Mail beta, accessing your email on the web is more secure than ever. Your inbox is protected to prevent anyone from eavesdropping on your webmail. As always, you receive SSL protection when you use your MobileMe Mail account on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and PC.
The beta is best viewed with Firefox 3.6, and Internet Explorer 8, and a load of other questions and answers you may have can be found here
