14 DAY TRIAL // As Lala.com subscribers are being refunded with iTunes Store credit, MobileMe customers are noticing a few changes with their own account information, a report says. Particularly, users are signaling that their accounts’ status changed over from “individual” to “full member,” indicating that Apple is planning to offer up a free version of its cloud-based service.
The report in question claims that existing MobileMe members have seen and disclosed the change in question, although it was spotted just temporarily. Apparently, one of these users has been able to capture evidence of the upcoming change, by providing a screenshot (available above).
The source reporting the news implies that Apple is on track to confirm rumors that MobileMe is going free, by stratifying the service into basic and full tiers. The latter category would get extra features for their paid subscription, while free subscribers would get basic functionality, such as a MobileMe email, calendar event and contacts syncing, and limited storage space. The Gallery feature could also be included in a free subscription plan to MobileMe, while paid customers could gain an enhanced version of this feature (e.g. video support), as well as others.
Should this rumor be true, the timing couldn’t be better for Apple to make it official at today’s WWDC 2010 keynote address by CEO Steve Jobs.
In related news, Apple has posted a knowledge base article detailing all the known and resolved issues for its newly introduced MobileMe Mail web application. In May, the company asked customers to try out the beta and provide feedback. The MobileMe Mail beta is described by Apple as “a preview of the new version of the mail web application. MobileMe Mail beta includes a completely new interface with a new widescreen view, improved performance, and powerful new features that make it easier to use than ever. Using the beta is completely voluntary and you can leave it at any time,” in the MobileMe Mail Beta FAQ.