Postagram with image popped out
Postagram
Version 1.0
Price: Free ($0.99 per postcard)
Postagram, a new app using the Instagram API, hit the App Store a couple hours ago. It’s the first app from new developer Sincerely, who promise they’ll be “making it easy to send photo prints from your phone.” The app is free to install, and offers real postcards, created from any of your Instagram photos, mailed to any address in the world as credit card purchases for $0.99 each (once entered your credit card info is remembered for convenience). Users can also set up a Postagram account and create postcards at www.postagramapp.com.
Postagram postcard creation
The Postagram blog promises that photos will be printed on thick, high quality photo postcards at 300 dpi. There’s also room for a 140 character personal message and your Instagram user avatar. The photo is die-cut, allowing the recipient to pop it out of the postcard if they choose.
Postage to anywhere in the world is included in the $0.99 purchase price, which is right on par with the $0.98 US postage fee for mailing a postcard internationally (and an appealing deal when you factor in the personalized image). You can expect your Postagram to arrive in 2-5 days to an American recipient, slightly longer for those of us outside US borders.
Assuming the postcard is standard size, it looks like the image will be roughly 4″ x 4″, which puts them at approximately double the cost of a comparable print from Hipstamatic’s Print Lab. Of course this doesn’t take into account the additional shipping you pay to receive your HipstaPrints.
I haven’t been able to find any first-hand descriptions of the image and paper quality, but will update with my own feedback when my sample postcard arrives. Since your Postagram is shipped as a postcard, exposed to all the potential for bumps, folds and scuffs reasonably expected in a voyage through the postal system, if you want an archival, framable print that will arrive in guaranteed condition the HipstaMart (or your preferred printing service) is probably still the way to go.
$0.99 is well within impulse spending range, and sometimes we want to send a print to somebody other than ourselves. Instagram’s 3 million users is an impressive number, especially in light of the fact that its only 6 months old. But it’s only 1% of the population of the US, and a tiny fraction of the global population. Postagram offers a quick, simple and inexpensive way to share and preserve special moments with friends and family around the world whether they have an iPhone 4 or a rotary phone.
Free Postagram postcard: All users who install the app and set up a Postagram account (this is different than your Instagram account) within the app’s first 24 hours on the App Store will get a credit for 1 free real-world postcard. If you’re on the fence, or just curious about image quality, this is a good chance to check it out.
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1.2 or later
~~~~
