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"Although we can't deny the pleasure of getting a real-life, hard copy card through good old-fashioned snail mail, e-cards offer a great alternative, especially for anyone short on time. \nE-cards have grown up from the tacky offerings of the 1990s and are an environmentally friendly way to send a greeting \u2014 especially nowadays, when you're more likely to have your friend's e-mail address than postal address.   \nGreeting card apps in the App Store are 10 a penny though, so to save you the hassle of shopping around for the best app, we've selected five fabulous options that will suit all tastes \u2014 from minimalists to shutterbugs to lovers of vintage style. \n1. Cartolina\n\n\n\n\n\nClassy card company Cartolina has gone, in its words, \"pretty hi tech\" with this iPhone app, which offers a limited range of e-cards that you can text or e-mail out as many times as you'd like. \nThe cards only offer space for three lines of text, so they're perfect for when you want to send  more than a text message, say, for a birthday greeting, announcement or even an event invite.\nAs well as the \"Cartograms,\" the app offers integration with the birthday field in your iPhone's contacts, and provides a calendar you can flick through to see birthdays and other dates.  The app even sends you a reminder so you can assure that your message gets sent off in time. \nDeveloper: Cartolina CardsCost: $0.99\n2. fCards\n\n\n\n\n\nfCards is a great all-around greeting card app. It offers a minimalist approach to design \u2014 the cards are postcard-style and have an image on one \"side\" and an area to write a message on the other. You can use your own images and customize the look and placement of the text.\nCategories are comprehensive and there's some really nice imagery on offer, including some beautifully simple photos that work really well for a variety of occasions.\nA bonus feature for social networkers is that the app is Facebook-friendly. Sign in to the social networking site in-app and you can send e-cards to your Facebook friends, as well as via traditional e-mail. \nDeveloper: fStopCost: $0.99\n3. Cerebral Itch E-Cards\n\n\n\n\n\nCerebral Itch's e-card app is the virtual greeting card solution for people who don't like greeting cards. In the developer's words, \"our e-card app is what an e-card app would be if it were home-schooled, slightly kinky and thought is was better than the other e-card apps.\"\nFunny, irreverent, non-traditional and in some cases downright rude, the card designs are modern, clever and knowing \u2014 and should only be sent to those with a sense of humor. \nCategories include those you'd expect \u2014 birthday, anniversary, thank you, get well, etc. \u2014 and some you might not \u2014 intervention, politics and breakup support. Besides sending the e-cards as e-mails, you can also send out invitations.  The app lets you customize the date, time and location of the event, which will appear as a Google Maps link in the e-mail. \nAt $2.99, this app isn't cheap (although it's certainly cheaper than buying the equivalent cards and paying postage), so if you can't bring yourself to plunk down that kind of change, then try out the free version that offers a limited selection of designs.\nDeveloper: Cerebral ItchCost: $2.99 \n4. Lifecards - Postcards\n\n\n\n\n\nThis very comprehensive app offers a huge variety of 350-plus themed templates that you can insert your own images and text into and send off as electronic postcards, letters, newsletters, cards and more. \nCategories are wide ranging, including obvious ones like travel and Christmas, as well as more unusual options like fruit and food, sport and winter. Customization options are plentiful and include the ability to tweak layouts, edit photos, change the color and font of the text and, in some designs, even hand write your signature. \nYour creations are e-mailed as image attachments, and they look good. If you're looking for a way to show off your own photos, then Lifecards is your app \u2014 and well worth the $2 download cost.\nDeveloper: Vivid AppsCost: $1.99\n5. Vintage Greeting Cards\n\n\n\n\n\nSmall View Media offers an entire range of \"vintage\" greetings cards apps that work for all occasions (Valentines, Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving,  Christmas and more), each with some period charm. In the words of the developers, the apps offer \"greetings from the past delivered using today's technology.\" \nThe downside is that each occasion is a separate app, priced at $1.99 a pop, which means collecting the set isn't cheap.  If you do, however, you'll have a library of lovely cards to use throughout the year. \nIn each app, you can browse the cards in a cover view-style flip layout and, when you see the one you want, you can save it to your photo roll and e-mail the image from there. This means less in-app personalization than other options we've featured here, but that simplicity might well suit some users. And with great galleries in each app, there will definitely be a design to suit everyone. \nDeveloper: Small View Media Cost: $1.99 each \nBONUS: Mean Cards\n\n\n\n\n\nIf the Cerebral Itch e-cards are for people you know have a sense of humor, then Mean Cards are for the friends you have that are a little bit twisted. This rated 17+ app offers a laugh-out-loud selection of wildly inappropriate greetings that range from flippant to downright hostile. \nIf you want to tell a cousin his degree is uselessness, a work colleague that everyone thinks she is faking an illness, or a friend that if she has one more baby, she's white trash, then this is the app to do it with. Just don't be too mean.\nDeveloper: Cerebral ItchCost: $1.99\nMore iPhone Resources from Mashable:\n- 10 Mobile Apps for Movie Addicts- 3 Innovative iPad Games That Use the iPhone as a Controller- 5 Stylish iPhone Alarm Clock Apps to Wake You Up On Time- 10 Useful iPhone Shortcuts, Tips and Tricks- 10 Useful iPhone Keyboard Shortcuts, Tips and Tricks"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2010/11/13/e-card-iphone-apps/>