Perhaps the star of the show is Calendar. While you can already publish your iCal calendars to .Mac (or another server), Calendar is more than a static view of an existing calendar. Apple says it allows event creation and "feels just like iCal". We'll see.

But what really sets MobileMe apart from its predecessor is that instead of relying on client-instigated synchronisation, it will also push new contacts, calendar items and bookmarks to the client. This will happen whether the client is a Mac, Windows-based system, an iPhone or an iPod touch.

Push email appears to remain the reserve of the iPhone, and the push capabilities require version 2.0 software on the iPhone and iPod touch.

What about Backup? No change, it seems. The existing Backup utility will still work with MobileMe, allowing backup to directly attached, networked or iDisk storage. While Apple's emphasis has shifted to Time Machine, Backup is still a useful way of backing up particular sets of files and folders, especially if offsite backup is required (eg, to optical media or Internet-based storage).

The arrival of MobileMe would have been a good opportunity to break the nexus between the utility and Apple's online service, and possibly to deliver an update to stem lingering questions over Backup's reliability.

Does Backup work for you? Please read on.