14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is promoting its new Cards application as a way to let your loved one know how you feel this Valentine’s Day.
“Send some love this Valentine’s Day with Apple’s Cards app. Mail beautiful cards from your iPhone or iPod touch,” reads a tweet from the Cupertino giant.
Apple’s Cards application was introduced in iOS 5 last year. It lets you create and send nifty greeting cards that you can personalize with your own text and photos.
You craft the card on your iDevice, select a mailing address, and have the physical card shipped to the recipient.
The card is made of “premium cotton paper using a centuries-old printing method that presses a design and ink into the card for a unique look and texture,” according to Apple. “It’s like having your own personal letterpress. In your pocket.”
In December 2011, Apple updated its Cards app to version 1.0.1 to improve the verification of postal addresses, to enhance text entry, and to improve the checkout process.
U.S. customers can send a card within the States for $2.99, or they can send a card anywhere else in the world for $4.99 (including postage). To place an order, users simply enter their Apple ID password. For U.S. customers only, the card will include an Apple-designed postage.
The United States Postal Service Intelligent Mail barcode is used for cards mailed to U.S. addresses, which means you’ll receive a notification on your iPhone or iPod touch on the day your card is to be delivered.
If you like your card so much that you want to keep it, you’ll find that it was automatically saved in the history list of the Cards app.
Although you can resend any card to another recipient, it’s probably best if you make your Valentine’s card unique, and keep it that way.