MobileMe Retail Boxes to be Discontinued

Resellers have been notified by Apple [AAPL], that the retail box version of the MobileMe services are coming to an end and that in future, all sales (see more details below) of the product will be digital.

The reason the MobileMe boxes are available in store was basically for promotional services only. When purchasing MobileMe from a store, you get an activation code and a few promotional materials.

What we also see today is that Apple has also discontinued MobileMe from their online stores. This makes it quite difficult to get a copy although there still is a page up for it offering the 60 day free trial and the $99 subscription price, so right now it’s a little confusing what is happening.

What we think is happening is that Apple will transition MobileMe to be a free service. After all, its new $1Bn datacenter is about to go live in the next few days and services are expected for iTunes and MobileMe within the next couple of months. This “free” version of MobileMe could be announced alongside the iPad 2 this coming Wednesday. Also, we could here a few things about where iTunes is headed.

A lot of this last part is speculation although the large new datacenter was said on the call yesterday to house MobileMe which indicates Apple is looking at rapid growth… ie, lots of free memberships.

We’ll find out more over the next few weeks and let you know where Apple is headed.

Via: MacRumors

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