Apple Updates MobileMe

Apple has given MobileMe a new look and has added several improvements, such as the ability to use an iPhone to find a lost iPad and vice a versa.

What hasn't changed is the price for Apple's cloud-based service, which still costs $99. While Google and Microsoft offer many comparable services for free, Apple targets fans willing to pay for a premium service that offers more for people with multiple Apple devices.

The improvements, introduced Thursday, represent tweaks rather than an overhaul. For example, Apple has given the Me.com Web site a new user interface and navigation features, including a new login page. The "Find My iPhone" app can now be used to find a lost iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. People who own a couple of the devices can use one to find the other, or use a friend's Apple device. The service can also be used to remotely wipe out all the data on a lost device. The deletion can be undone if the owner later recovers the device.

People can login to Me.com via Web browser to locate any one of the three devices. The expanded location feature requires iOS 3.1.3 or later. IOS is the new name for the iPhone OS.

E-mail via MobileMe has also been upgraded with widescreen and compact views for the iPad and iPhone, respectively. Apple has added single-click archiving and new rules to keep email organized across devices.

Other enhancements include better overall performance, support for SSL for better security when using a browser, improved junk mail filtering and support for sending from external e-mail addresses.

Apple introduced the e-mail refresh to MobileMe subscribers last month on an invitation-only basis. The upgrade works best with Safari 4, Firefox 3.6 and Internet Explorer 8 or higher versions.

One of MobileMe's key features as an online file-sharing service is to synchronize data across Apple hardware and a PC.