Writing and sending postcards is a traditional vacation ritual and, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, can cost you no more than a little time and energy.

Don’t be forced to choose among cheesy print postcards at your vacation destination — use your own iPhone photos with one of these fabulous, free apps that creates electronic postcards you can email.

While your dear old grandma may still prefer a card of the paper variety, next time you’re on a trip away from home, why not drop a line to your friends, family and colleagues using one of these apps?


1. SodaSnap



SodaSnap offers a simple app interface that matches the simplicity of the final product. To get started, choose an image. You can either select a photo from your iPhone's camera roll, snap a pic of your surroundings, or use your location.

Using your location brings up the maps app from which you can screengrab. This doesn't make the most compelling picture postcard, but it may be a useful tool for meetings and invitations.

Once you're happy with your image, you can add text and hit the "Share" button. The way the app is designed, it's pretty much what you see is what you get, so you'll have a good idea of what the recipient will see in the inbox. As well as email, there are options to share to Twitter and Facebook.


2. Photocards


The Photocards app allows you to snap a pic or grab one from your camera roll. When you've sized the photo to fit the frame, you can choose a background.

The available backgrounds display classic stock photography — the sky, greenery, sand, landscapes, etc. — but the pleasant surprise is that the images are actually decent quality. The not-so-pleasant surprise is that you have to pay for some of them.

With your background and picture in place, it's just a matter of penning a few lines before emailing your creation.


3. Montager


Montager is a little different because it acts as more of a photography tool. However, we really like that it lets you get creative with your pics.

It offers a number of templates that allow you juxtapose three images into a mini-montage. You simply double-tap the empty space you want to fill, and then create your triptych either on-the-fly with photos taken with the iPhone's camera, or from pics saved to the camera roll.

Although there's no built-in text options, you can email from within the app, so add your message there.


4. Current Postcards


Once you've snapped a photo or grabbed one from your camera roll, the Current Postcards app lets you select a font (a big bonus in our book) before opening the theme gallery.

Themes categories include Birthday, Special Events, Holidays, Everyday or Just For Fun. While we'd struggle to pick a theme from most of the clipart-esque options, the simple postcard in the "Everyday" category (as seen above) is quite classic.

You can send your Current Postcards creations via email or post to Facebook.


5. Postino


Creating a postcard with the Postino app is a four-step process. First upload a photo from your camera roll or capture one anew with your iPhone.

Next write the message, and then you're onto the really fun step — adding your signature.

You can scrawl your John Hancock on your iPhone screen with your finger. We think this would be a really nice touch if you're sending postcards with a child — although, if your finger writing skills are as rubbish as ours, your signature may end up looking like a child's anyway!

Once you've added that personal touch, email your postcard.

Thumbnail image courtesy of Steve Moses

More About: app store, apple, iphone, iphone apps, iphotography, List, photography
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EveryScape, a startup working to create visual guides for local search, is today rolling out its Eats application for iPhone and iPad to users in the Seattle, San Francisco and SoHo areas. The application takes mobile users inside nearby restaurants for a more up-close and personal search experience.
Using Eats, application users can essentially explore the interior of local restaurants in a virtual walk-a-round fashion, similar in style to Google Streetview for mobile, but infinitely more practical for would-be restaurant diners.
Eats also includes visual search options, social sharing features and filters for users to find restaurants by location, price or rating.
The EveryScape custom-built technology powering Eats is capable of transforming photo stills into three dimensional, user-controlled internal store tours. The application is designed to further the connection between patron and business owner, and business owners can use the service to customize their venue information.
EveryScape is also announcing today the private beta release of its mobile SDK, making available its collection of visual restaurant guides to select iPhone and iPad developers.
The Eats mobile application will be rolled out to New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C. in the months ahead. In many ways, Eats is like a next generation version of Yelp for mobile. Interestingly enough, Google may also be experimenting with a similar idea to enhance its Streetview product.
You can watch a demo of the Boston edition of the iPhone application below.

Reviews: Google, YelpMore About: everyscape, ipad app, iphone app, Mobile 2.0, Search
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This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.
Name: Bakodo
Quick Pitch: Ever wonder if the product you’re about to buy is worth it? Scan its barcode, see what your friends think and make the right choice.
Genius Idea: With the help of mobile phone applications like RedLaser, consumers are embracing barcode scanning for in-store comparison shopping. Bakodo [iTunes link] is a barcode intelligence service for the iPhone that aims to take the scan to the next level.
Bakodo can scan most types of barcodes — including traditional barcodes and QR codes — and acts like a barcode search engine. It integrates with Amazon, Google, Best Buy and eBay product search engines so that each scan provides access to extensive product data on more than 12 million items. The app also shows relevant GoodGuide ratings, ShopWiki info and attached Stickybits for scans.
The next version of the iPhone application is coming soon and promises to introduce social functionality around barcode scans. The idea is to encourage barcode scanners to rate and review products and create a community around products and goods. Users can see what their friends are scanning and reviewing and ideally make more informed purchase decisions.
The pending update will also add more than 60,000 grocery items to the application’s database, which Bakodo founder Andres Douglas believes will be extremely popular with shoppers.
“In 2009 we ran a number of beta tests that showed people love scanning pretty much everything, even their groceries,” Douglas says. “But we realized there were huge gaps in product information, so we developed our own crawling, scraping and search technology for barcodes, focusing on groceries in particular.”
Bakodo also doubles as a white label, software-as-a-service offering for businesses. Retailers can license the technology to encourage, reward and track in-store scans.
Services such as Bakodo and the social barcode startup Stickybits point to a future where our mobile phones not only help us find good deals but also encourage us to tap into word-of-mouth product info at the exact moment we’re ready to buy.
Sponsored by Microsoft BizSparkBizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.
Reviews: Google, iPhoneMore About: bakodo, barcode scanning, Mobile 2.0, stickybits
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