Others pointed out that MobileMe is a cornerstone of the iPhone's push to compete head to head with business-oriented smart phones like Research in Motion's BlackBerry, but that the reality doesn't match Apple's promises. "You know, when BlackBerry goes down that stuff hits the news, the world stops and they fix it lickity split," said "vanaman" on the same thread. "This is ridiculous and offensive to those who rely on Apple for a serious service -- 'Enterprise for the rest of us.' Yeah, right."

MobileMe was touted as "Exchange for the rest of us" by Apple executives, including CEO Steve Jobs, when it was unveiled in June. The reference was to the new synchronization features it will offer iPhone users who don't grab mail or update calendars and contacts lists through their company's Microsoft Exchange e-mail server.

The service also provides new Web-based e-mail, contact and scheduling applications, as well as 20GB of storage space, double .Mac's allowance, for an annual fee of US$99.

Apple did not reply to a call for comment on the MobileMe e-mail outage and the service's continued problems.