Cards for iPhone, iPad Review

Our rating:

By: Apple Inc.

Version #: 1.0

Date Released:

Developer: By Apple

Price: Free

User Rating:

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Let me take you back to 2008 and a service Apple discontinued called iCards. iCards was a web based e-card service that was part of .mac and let you send beautiful cards with a large variety of images to anyone’s email inbox. It was a very popular service that got the axe along with the rest of .mac to make room for mobileme. Well as the saying goes, “everything old gets made new again,” Apple has again stepped forward into the card sector. This time, they have taken the decidedly harder step of moving to physical cards and has moved to service to your iOS device. With the release of iOS 5 has come a new app in the app store called Cards.

So lets say you have a friend’s birthday coming up and you need a card for them. You could go to the store and pick out a card taht sort of says what you want to say to them. You could even make a print one on your home computer. Unfortunately those never turn out as nice, and that would require a lot of time which is hard for an on the go person such as yourself. In steps Cards which lets you not only customize your card’s text, but also sends the recipient a high quality card with letter press designs on cotton paper. Those of you that have taken advantage of the projects in iPhoto already know the quality of printing that comes from Apple’s service, so lets get down to the app itself.

Starting the app drops you right into creating your first card. You can select from twenty-one different designs that range from more generic borders and styles to specifics graphics for holidays, birthdays, romance, or travel. Each section has a sample image to inspire you. Once you have selected your favorite card, an animate gently brings you to the customization area where you can add your own picture from the your photos and edit the text on the outside and inside of the card. Again there is pre-filled text that you can leave as is or remove and place whatever you wish. The fonts are preset and can not be changed. Once you have filled out the card just the way you want, you tap over to envelope which causes the envelope you see in the background to comes fore and let you choose a recipient from your contacts.

Every card you send gets saved so it is easy to resend the same card like an announcement to as many people as you wish. Each card costs $2.99 to send anywhere in the US and $4.99 for anywhere internationally. The app utilizes your app store account which makes for a painless purchase. Apple sends your phone a notification when the card is shipped and if you are sending in the US, you can also get notification of when it will arrive. The connivence of this app can not be overstated. As a person that always hated card shopping, this app gives you just enough control that you don’t feel limited, but also makes it quick and easy to design your card. I would like to see more design choices and perhaps the ability to move elements around, but with the old fashion printing methods incorporated in this service it may not be possible. Cards is free in the app store so download it and have fun sending cards today.

We rate this app 4.5 out 5 stars.