Apple has announced (http://www.apple.com/ipad/mobileme/) iPad support for MobileMe, the company's US$99-per-year suite of Internet tools.

MobileMe delivers push email, push contacts and push calendars from the MobileMe service in the “cloud” to native applications on the iPhone, iPod touch, Macs and PCs. MobileMe also provides a suite of ad-free web applications that deliver a desktop-like experience through any modern browser. MobileMe apps include Mail, Contacts and Calendar, as well as Gallery for viewing and sharing photos and iDisk for storing and exchanging documents online.

Apple says the service now syncs with iPad. And it offers a feature that lets you locate your iPad if you misplace it. Log in to me.com to view a map that shows the approximate location of your iPad. If it’s nearby, have it play a sound to help you find it, or display a message on the Home screen to help someone return it to you. The Find My iPad feature works best if your iPad includes both Wi-Fi and 3G, but it will also find your Wi-Fi-only iPad when it’s connected to a wireless network.

Of course your iPad contains information you don’t want in the hands of a stranger. So if you lose your iPad and displaying a message on it hasn’t resulted in its safe return, you can remotely lock it with a passcode or initiate a remote wipe and restore factory settings. If you eventually find your iPad, you can restore your email, contacts, calendars, and bookmarks by enabling your MobileMe account on iPad.