postcard

How to send a postcard with your mobile device

Touchnote is fast, easy to use, and offers an awesome way to make use of those shots that might have otherwise sat untouched in your photo gallery.

Here's how it works:

1. Download and install the app Touchnote (download) is available for free in the Android Market or iTunes App Store. You can play around with it all you want, but when it comes time to actually send a postcard, you'll have to go ahead and create an account.

2. Pick a photo The app gives you the choice of pulling a photo from your gallery, taking a … Read more

Send postcards from your Android device

The Touchnote app for Android takes a photo from your mobile device, prints it on a glossy postcard with a custom message, and sends it anywhere in the world for $1.49. If you're sick of just posting your phone pics to Facebook, and want to actually bring them to life, this is the app to do it.

Creating postcards with Touchnote is a breeze. First, open it up and choose a photo. You can pull one from your gallery, take a new photo with your device's camera, or download one from your Facebook profile. Once you've … Read more

How to send a postcard directly from your Android camera

Whether you want to share baby pics with older relatives, stir up vacation envy among your work buddies or just have a memento to affix to the fridge, it's nice to have something to hold. Postcardly lets you assign a unique e-mail address to anyone you like; any picture you send to that address is converted to a physical post card and mailed to them automatically--with a message, if you like. It's incredibly simple to send post cards from your Android device's camera. Here's how to get started: 

Sign up for a Postcardly account. They'… Read more

Postcardly turns digital pics into real postcards

Remember the United States Postal Service? Those people who dress up in blue and visit your house nearly every day? They're feeling a little lonely with the growing domination of e-mail and Facebook. You can brighten up their day a little by reviving the lost art of postcards.

The newly launched Postcardly service bridges the gap between your digital snapshots and the real world by turning your pics into actual postcards that will make your grandmother happy and answer your 12-year-old's question: "Mommy, what's a postcard?"… Read more

Postagram sends postcards from your iPhone

Xobni co-founder Matt Brezina is launching a fun and clever product today to let iPhone users send real, physical postcards directly from your iPhone (or from the Web). Postagram is the app. Sincerely is the new company he started to create it.

Postagram uses the Instagram API. It requires that users have an Instagram login and the app installed on their phone. But from there, it looks like a quick procedure to select a photo from your Instagram library, put a message of up to 140 characters on it, address it (unfortunately the app can't access your phone's address book directly), and have it sent out as a postcard through the mail.

The postcard itself has a clever twist: The Instagram-styled square photo can be popped out of the postcard that carries it. Unlike traditional postcards, the image doesn't take up the whole front surface. (The SMS-length message and the photo are on the front; I haven't seen one yet so I don't know what's on the back, aside from the address.)

It costs 99 cents to send a Postagram, payable via credit card since Apple won't let companies sell physical goods through its App Store payment system. That's a completely reasonable fee for taking the cheapest of social gestures--sending a photo to someone electronically--and making it more real and valuable. … Read more

Create collages with your images

Diptic is a fairly simple program that lets you make cool-looking collages using photos you take with your camera or what you have stored in your iPhone's photo library. You start by selecting from 20 different layouts, such as one photo across the top with three smaller ones across the bottom, or one big image on the left with four small shots down the right side, as examples. Then, just add images to each frame and move or zoom each one to make it fit just right. From there you can rotate an image 90 degrees within a frame … Read more

Five seriously fun photo apps for your iPhone

The iPhone may not have the world's best camera, but when it comes to having fun with photos, there's no better device.

The App Store offers countless apps devoted to tweaking, morphing, framing, sharing, or just generally improving your snapshots. I've rounded up five I think any iPhone owner will enjoy.

1. Framed You know those novelty "Wanted" posters you can have made up at state fairs and carnivals? Framed (99 cents) lets you paste photos onto posters, milk cartons, album covers, and about 30 other nifty scenes. You can then share the results via e-mail or post them straight to Facebook. Try the free Lite version before you buy, and check out the similar freebie Photofunia as well.

2. Gorillacam This isn't so much about photo fun as it is photo convenience. Gorillacam serves up a self-timer, a time-lapse option, 3-shot burst mode, a bubble level, and a full-screen shutter--same as many other apps, but this one's free and refreshingly easy to use.… Read more

Five must-have iPhone apps for your next trip

I'm winging my way to San Francisco in a couple weeks, so I've been rounding up apps that'll make my trip easier and more enjoyable.

Obviously I'll stock up on e-books and movies for the flight (Wondershare's DVD Ripper Platinum is proving a great choice for copying my DVDs to my iPhone), and I've already got old standbys like Urbanspoon and Yelp for finding local grub and businesses.

But there's more to a trip than just food and in-flight movies. Here's a list of the iPhone apps I've decided to pack:

HazelMail Postcards Sure, you can always e-mail photos of your trip, but doesn't grandma deserve a good old-fashioned postcard? HazelMail turns any iPhone snapshot into the real deal, then mails it (along with your custom wish-you-were-here message) to any address. First one's free; after that, each card costs $1.50 (or get 12 for $12). TravelTracker Pro A bit more robust than competitors SplashTravel and Travel Assistant, TravelTracker Pro helps you keep tabs on every aspect of your trip: flights, car/hotel reservations, weather, and even currency exchange rates. Plus, it integrates with the excellent TripIt service to automatically import/update your travel plans, and provides live flight tracking via FlightStats. Only gripe: It's a little pricey at $12.99. GadgetTrak A stolen iPhone could put a major damper on your trip. Free app GadgetTrak aims to help you get it back, and while it's not quite as effective as MobileMe, it can't hurt to install it before leaving.… Read more

Business material designer

Small Business Publisher promises to help entrepreneurs avoid having their materials professionally designed and printed. While it does its best to help even those with no artistic ability, the program takes some getting used to.

This download does a great job of covering the bases for users who are either ready to jump right in and design (thanks to its three-step startup menu), or those who need a little coaching (thanks to its Help file and two online tutorials). However, the actual design screen will take some exploring no matter how you get started. For example, the design tools change … Read more