Why doesn't my new @me.com email address work? The Problem:

I've just updated to OSX 10.7.2, with iCloud support. Everything works fine. Except... when I try to enable 'mail and notes' under iCloud settings, it just gets stuck displaying 'starting'.

If I go to my mail app, I am greeted by the message 


  Cannot send mail, failed to connect to the iCloud server.


When I try to use mail from iCloud.com, I am greeted by the message 


  To use iCloud mail, create an @me.com email address by turning on mail in your iCloud settings, using iOS or OSX.


However, I am never prompted to create an @me.com email address when I turn on mail in iCloud settings.

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What might have caused the problem:

A couple of months ago, I reserved my @me.com email address by creating it on my brothers laptop (because he's a developer). In fact, I can even log in to iCloud using this email address. 

So basically, some part of Apple's database believes I have an @me.com address, but the mail portion of iCloud doesn't think this is the case and still wants me to create one.

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I'm pretty stuck on this - any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.

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Edit:

I had some ideas on a couple of things that might fix it, but don't know where to start on them.


Do iCloud settings have an associated .plist file? Sometimes
deleting/modifying .plist files can solve problems. I've had a look
for one but couldn't seem to find one easily - if there is one, where
might it be located?
If anyone else has this issue, what happens when you try using iCloud
mail from an iPhone/iPad etc?
Apple support is impossible to contact if you're out of the phone
support period (I'm still under warranty though). What ways might I
be able to contact Apple, in case it's an issue with their database?
Could I file a bug report somewhere, or send an email to some hard to
find email address?
You may just need to wait.

I transferred my MobileMe account to iCloud on iOS 5 launch day. I encountered the same issues that you seem to be having in that when I tried to use the mail app on iCloud.com it gave me same error message as you received. When I tried to turn mail and notes on in the iCloud system preferences, it just hanged on 'starting'. All other features were working correctly.

I just trumpet it up to high demand on Apple's servers and decided to wait. I just tried now and my email is working from both iCloud.com and mail.app.