MobileMe launch clouds Apple's reputation

The launch of Apple's latest product, data-synching service MobileMe, has been rather out of synch with the company's reputation, as teething problems threaten to tarnish the respected brand.

MobileMe is aimed at those who use more than one device- such as a Mac, iPhone or PC- to send emails or maintain contacts and want to synch the data between them.

But the service, which stores and synchronises a user's data centrally on an internet server account known as a cloud, has been beset with problems.

Users have reported difficulties receiving emails and loss of data and the service has also suffered from poor product reviews.

And it will be hard for MobileMe to get over bad first impressions, as poor performance and reliability make just plain bad PR.

In a leaked email, which some observers believe was a deliberate PR ploy, Apple CEO Steve Jobs promised to press on to make it a service Apple would be proud of by the end of the year.

But the MobileMe affair highlights just how important it is to get things right first time- in this case by thoroughly testing a product before releasing it, rather than repairing the damage that has already been done.

Apple can perhaps expect only a minor dent to its reputation this time, but should nevertheless be treating it as a major lesson in PR.