MobileMe Opens Up a Can of Beta

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This morning Apple announced changes to MobileMe’s web client for Mail at me.com. The new features aren’t live yet, but you can sign up for the beta when you log in to your MobileMe account online. 

Here’s what we know so far:

 

  • Widescreen & 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 widescreen view will be very nice, and more iPad-like. But the two things from that list I am most excited about are server-side rules and a true Archive function. Having rules server-side will be fantastic since that will trickle down to my Mac, iPhone, & iPad. Archive will also be nice (as I already have a folder set up to mimic that). One has to wonder if Apple will update Mail on iPhone, iPad, & the Mac to have a dedicated Archive button like the web client will have. (I’m hopeful).

Apple has also compiled a small list of FAQs. I’m looking forward to taking the beta for a spin once I get my invite! What do you think? Sound off in the comments.