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Microsoft's answer to MobileMe goes public

My Phone, Microsoft's cloud repository of mobile data, has gone into public beta, offering an online backup of contacts, calendars and files, but is still suffering a few early glitches. The service is intended to provide Microsoft-hosted storage, 200MB of it, to the legion of non-corporate Windows Mobile users that Microsoft is …

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Anonymous Coward
Coat

"is still suffering a few early glitches."

So it's exactly like MobileMe then?

Nick Palmer
Thumb Up

Also worth noting...

...that quite a few hosted Exchange providers will provide you with Sharepoint space as well (in the case of mine, FOC). Good article, loved the "storage card".

Rob

Seems ok

I have it working, like El Reg first request to install the software was met with an error, 2nd try got it though.

So what's the route map for this then? Any chance they will link it in with a Hotmail account now that has a calendar and such like on the go. Then if I can just let my outlook at home connect to that account also then we have exchange server for the poor man.

Keep'em seperate and it's a waste of time, I'd rather buy phone backup software if that's all the MyPhone feature is going to do.

(Just realised we don't have an icon for middle of the road, bothered/not bothered attitude)

Anonymous Coward
Stop

Incorrect!

To say it won't even work if set up to sync with an Exchange server is completely incorrect. My device syncs directly with an Exchange server, and My Phone just says that it won't sync my contacts, email, calendar and tasks as they're being synced with the Exchange server - but all the other options are there - music, SMS, photos, documents and it even works fine with my storage card... ;)

Bill Ray
(Written by Reg staff)

Re: Incorrect!

It's Microsoft that states it won't work with Exchange-connected devices, we didn't get a chance to test it but I suspect many people would consider that failing to work with contacts, calendar and tasks to be a fatal flaw.

Interesting to hear that it works for files though, which I'm sure will be useful to some.

Bill.

Anonymous Coward
Black Helicopters

Re: Incorrect

Throws an interesting light on the subject, what if when connected to an exchange server it does sync the important things like contacts, calendar etc, how many IT depts will be jumpy about sensitive data being hived off to some cloud storage at the blink of an eye.

Without good coding/security this potentially could be a gapping hole in any IT network. Activesync even provides an option to allow data connections while sync'ing, prehaps that option should be removed. It's probably bad enough that I circumvent my companies firewall by disconnecting from the network and switching my phone to internet sharing mode.

Anonymous Coward
Boffin

@Bill

"If you have an active connection with Microsoft Exchange server (which is frequently used for corporate e-mail), My Phone will not synchronize your contacts, calendar appointments, or tasks."

http://myphone.microsoft.com (then click Find out more)

Jerry Masterson
Coat

A great addition for WM users

My only question is if the Reg owns a WM phone, who owns the other one?

myxiplx
Thumb Down

Uses Live? Count me out

Sorry, but I'm not a fan of any service that wipes your account after 90 days.

... oh, and that includes corporate account for tracking your software licence purchases of rather large amounts of Windows and Office. MS insist it has to be linked to a Live ID, then wipe the lot because we're not using it enough.

Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

Windows Mobile in the hands of the common user...

Quote: "This isn't accidental: Microsoft wants to see Windows Mobile outside the office and in the hands of ordinary people."

Perhaps they would be much better off focusing on making WinMo much less shit than it currently is, rather than announcing a MobileMe Too™ service far too prematurely ....

Kevin Bellinger

Partially wrong

I've been using this service for a while now as a beta user

When your phone is synching with an exchange server the MyPhone service won't synch that data as it is redundant and already stored in a location other than the device. For the files,photos and txt msgs you choose to backup then it will work as advertised.

Having dropped my phone in water recently and having recovered all of my information bar a couple of txt's which had arrived since I'd last synched in a very short period of time I became a fan of this service very quickly.

Anonymous Coward
Thumb Down

google sync much better

Could have been so useful - but google sync integrates contacts between gmail & phone.

Saving text messages is nice though i guess....

Anonymous Coward
Flame

Nearly as good as MobileMe?

So it can only lose half of your data for one day, instead of MobileMe - all of it for days on end?

Rob Welsh

Why bother....

....Gmail account, Dropbox, free, sorted!

Ascylto
Jobs Halo

Like MobileMe?

I'm a Mac user (aka Fanboi, KoolAid drinker) and MobileMe is an embarrassment as well as being a pile of sh1te. Microsoft would do well NOT to try to emulate it until Apple get their collective finger out and make MobileMe work properly. Then, and only then, should Microsoft have a go ... how about ZuneMe?

Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

RE: google sync much better

My Phone synchronises more than just contacts and calendar entries.

Anonymous Coward
Thumb Down

How is this like MobileMe?

MobileMe is a great service that syncs my mail, contacts and calendars across all my Macs and my iPhone (in addition to a whole load of other cool stuff), whereas this Microsoft thing appears to be something that just backs up data from phones running Windows. I don't see the similarity.

Martin Hill
Happy

MobileMe works these days

Mobileme was indeed crap when it was launched, failing to do very simple synch tasks. Definitely not Apple's finest hour.

Fast-forward to today and it is rock solid for me now. Ascylto, have you tried it recently?

It's great having all of my Safari bookmarks and iDisk volume synched between my home Macs, my work Macs and my iPhone amongst it's other features. Very nice online Ajax environment for webmail, photo galleries, movies, website, contacts, etc as well and the integration with programs on the Mac like the iLife suite is pretty good.

Not to say it is perfect yet - could definitely do with a few more features to justify the price, but I'm pretty happy with it these days.

-Mart

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