Postino

Developer: Anguria Lab
Category: Travel
Version: 1.0.4
Release Date: May 18, 2009
Size: 8.0 MB
Price: Free
Rating 10/10

Apple's app revue process is a thing of mystery. So is its process of selecting which apps to feature in its television commercials. So are its featured musicians for promoting the iTunes Store for that matter, like why Jack Johnson over Ben Harper? Probably because Ben is outspokenly pro-weed, J.J. sings about Curious George, and Apple is cementing it's reputation as a G rated company as it moves deeper and deeper into the mixed media world.

I digress. When Apple chooses an app for use in its televised iPhone commercials it's providing literally millions of dollars in free advertising for the app and its developer, which is great, especially when that developer is a small time indie app producer. But that action also has it's down side- it drives consumers to that app and that app alone, even if there is a better one that does essentially the same thing. That developer is basically S.O.O.L., hundreds of thousands will flock to the competition instead of being intelligent consumers and doing some comparative shopping.

The recent travel focused "An App For That" ad is a great example of this uneven scale. It shows a postcard create/sending app that costs $0.99. Well, Postino does everything that app does, has a prettier interface, flows more smoothly through the create and send process, and is FREE instead of a buck. Why is the other app on TV? Apple gets 30% of every sale, and 30% of a free app is zilch.

Postino is a great app. You can take a photo, or choose from your library, and then customize  that photo, write on it's back, sign it, and send it away as a snail-mail postcard or as an e-card. When fooling around with Postino I created some great postcards by utilizing photo editing apps on a photo before importing them to Postino, then further customizing in the Postino app itself.

The workflow is smooth as you move through the process of selecting a photo, writing a message, using the paint-style feature to sign the back, addressing the card with either an email address or a physical address, purchasing a stamp through a pre set up account, and ultimately sending the greeting away. Once you have it down it takes under 5 minutes to create and send a card, under 2 if you go minimalist.There are plenty of great customizing options; frames, borders, backgrounds etc,-you can create some great looking custom cards. setting up a stamp purchase account takes just a few seconds and re-upping your stamp amount is a one-touch deal.

Wether you are traveling, or just want to send cool emails, Postino is the superior app in the genre, not just because of it's slick, easy interface, but because it has that magic price point, FREE. What is there to lose? Zilch.