Mobile Me Calendar: More Missing Functionality?

[RidleyGriff]

Outside of the push/sync issues, I have been frustrated with the lack of basic functionality in the MobileMe calendar application -- and correspondingly, the iPhone. Functionality that is portrayed right on Apple's Mobile Me page.

Namely, there is no support for multiple attendees to an event you create in the Calendar web app in Mobile Me. Apple has claimed the web apps are "Desktop class", and that says we may even prefer them to our desktop apps... which I suppose may be true, but the Calendar application doesn't even provide the full feature set that iCal does.

Furthermore, on the Mobile Me Calendar info page, there is a picture of an iPhone, with the invite invitation inbox active.

The clear inference here is that iPhone+Mobile Me equals a scenario where users can receive event invitations and add them to their calendar on their iPhone. However, unless a user has an Exchange account set up, invite invitations simply don't exist (despite there being a preference for accepting invite invitations in Setting!).

I feel like there needs to be some sort of clarification from Apple on this; were invite invitations dropped from the iPhone, and are they coming soon? Were multiple attendees dropped from Mobile Me because it would highlight the lack of the acceptance feature on the iPhone, or vice versa?

I believe that the intent is "Exchange for the rest of us", but right now we are only getting about 70% of that. I'm actually quite enjoying the service, but my personal needs require a full-featured web app, not a neutered surrogate, and complete, total implementation with the iPhone.

 

[e-coli]

That appears to have been deleted from Apple's web page now.

Boy, this launch is just a wreck. An absolute abortion.

 

[michaelsaxon]

It's like those Iranian photoshopped missiles, except Apple is removing things from their pictures.

 

[RaceTripper]

Another serious flaw is that I have several subscribed calendars in iCal and none of them synch when push is enabled. As a result I no longer have them on my iPhone. That's a deal breaker, since I only have access to my wife's calendar if I bring up iCal on my MBP. I have other subscribed calendars I need as well.

What's worse is I have no way to subscribe to calendars on my iPhone, so I have no way to see them there. This is clearly a step backwards in usability for me. Push calendars are brain dead.

 

[RidleyGriff]

What's worse is I have no way to subscribe to calendars on my iPhone, so I have no way to see them there. This is clearly a step backwards in suability for me. Push calendars are brain dead.

I couldn't agree more RaceTripper -- the Calendar implementation across the board feels like its only 50% there.

I wonder if getting Exchange support going took longer than anticipated, and in order to make the launch date regular iPhone Calendar (and by extension, Mobile Me, as they are linked) functionality was delayed?

 

[aria]

subscribed calendars in iCal

There is a way to put iCals subscribed calendars on an iPhone or Ipod Touch, even if you use Mobile Me.

I use Mobile Me with iCal. I have some Google calendars subscribed to iCal.

On my Ipod touch, Settings, Mail Contacts Calendars, myusername@me.com, Calendars are set off.

Then, in iTunes, I click on the iPod touch, click on the Info tab and select sync iCal calendars, All calendars.

I still do not have iCal subscribed calendars on me.com. That is less of a problem for me, since I can just refer directly to the calendar.google.com web site for an online calendar.