Apple's premium email service continues to suffer from outages as the consumer-electronics maker takes another dent to its typically sterling customer-service reputation.

The Cupertino, Calif., company has been migrating its .Mac pay email service to an upgraded version, called MobileMe. But in doing so, it has run into problems including service outages and customers losing access to their accounts. It's the latest in a string of issues that have cropped up since the launch of the latest iPhone, an unusual turn for a company known for its attention to detail in its products and services.

The latest problem stems from MobileMe. The feature, which was unveiled alongside the iPhone 3G, stores the customer's data and content online, and is supposed to automatically keep all of the person's devices updated with the latest information.

Users who previously used the .Mac email service, which is similar to a Yahoo or Microsoft Hotmail account but costs $99 a year, were automatically upgraded to MobileMe. But reports of problems began appearing on the blogosphere and on Apple's own message boards.

"The release last week of the software companion to the iPhone, known as MobileMe, is a disaster for at least one customer. Demobilised me," complained one blogger on Monday.

Several Apple customers complained about being without email for several days.

Last week, Apple apologized for the problems in a letter to MobileMe customers, noting the transition "was a lot rockier than we had hoped." As compensation, Apple gave current subscribers an automatic 30-day extension of the MobileMe service for free.

An Apple spokesman wasn't immediately available to provide an update on the problem. The company said on its Web site that 1% of MobileMe members cannot access their email.

This isn't the first hiccup by Apple in recent weeks. When the iPhone 3G launched, Apple's servers were overtaxed and shut down, denying customers the ability to activate their new devices. Apple and AT&T store employees told disappointed customers that they had to go home and activate their phones at a later time. Original iPhone users who upgrade the new 2.0 software, which enables third-party programs, met with glitches.

Shares of Apple traded recently at $164.29, down 0.5%.

Source:Dow Jones