How to send a postcard directly from your Android camera
Digital technology has revolutionized photography, but many of us haven't left physical pictures behind. Postcardly is a great paid service that lets you easily send digital shots as postcards to anyone you like. Learn how to integrate it with your Android camera in this blog post by Rob Lightner.
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're still experimenting with payment plans, but for now they charge $4.99 per month for 5 post cards or $9.99 per month for 15. (The first three are free.)
Create one or more Postcardly addresses for your friends or family members. Just enter their name and mailing address so the card can be mailed properly, then give each one a memorable nickname and a unique Postcardly username.
Add this address to your Android Contacts. Open up your recipient's entry in Contacts, tap the Menu button, then select "Edit." Scroll down to "Email," then tap the green plus sign next to it to open a new text box. Select the gray button next to it, then "Custom," then type "Postcardly" or something easy to remember into the text field. Now enter their Postcardly address into the text box and tap "Save" at the bottom left. (If this recipient isn't in your Contacts yet, just type their name into the text field at the top of the pane and then tap the plus sign next to it to create a new contact, then follow the same instructions.)
Take a picture you want to send as a postcard. While reviewing it in the Camera (or the Gallery), just select "Share," then "Email" or "Gmail," then "Contacts." Scroll down until you find the recipient, then select their Postcardly address, then hit "Send."
Once you've set it all up, it's easy (and somewhat addictive) to send post cards. They typically just take a few days to arrive, and they are a welcome addition to the typical daily pile of junk mail and bills.