We have been fans of the Touchnote for Symbian application for a long time now. In fact, we first wrote about the app not long after we started this blog. And, at the time, we were craving a version of this app for use on Nokia’s touch-enabled devices. After all, with a name like Touchnote, it just seems fitting.

Well, I am very happy to report that our patience has been rewarded. A new version of Touchnote Postcards, specifically for use with Nokia Symbian OS, S60 5.0 (i.e., the touch-enabled) devices is now available in Ovi Store, and this app offers everything you would expect from Touchnote and more, including the ability to buy credits for additional photo cards directly within the app (we’ll come back to that in a bit).

As a reminder, for those who are not familiar with Touchnote, this app makes it possible for you to take pictures from you Nokia mobile device and turn them into printed photo cards that can be sent via good-old postal mail to family and friends around the world. And the entire process has been simplified so that you can do it in just three quick steps – in many ways, it is as easy as sending an MMS.

Send your Touchnote photo cards in 3 steps

To begin, you can either use a picture already saved to the gallery on your phone, or you can use the camera built in to your Nokia device to take a new picture on the spot. Once you select the picture you want to use in your Touchnote, you can adjust the area of the image that will be displayed in the printed card, including cropping or zooming in on a specific portion of the picture.

Then, you add a personal message that will be printed with the photo card, and you also add the recipient for the card (note, in this new version of the app, you can select multiple recipients, if you want to do so – you must use 1 credit for each card that you plan to mail).

After selecting your photo, adding a personal note, and entering the recipient info, you just click “Send”, and you’re done. It’s that easy, I swear. And, from your touch-enabled Nokia device, the entire process is super easy. On devices like the Nokia N97 mini, the app intentionally displays in landscape mode, which ensures that you have plenty of room to work, and it also displays the image in a way that is closer to how it will look in the final printed card that you receive in the mail.

At the end of the process, the app provides an on-screen confirmation message, and you will also get an e-mail alerting you to the completed transaction.

Then, sit back and wait for a few days, and your printed photo card will arrive in the mail. It makes a great surprise for someone in your life, or can be used to remember a special occasion – it’s entirely up to you.

In-App Payment now available to buy additional usage credits

As always, the first card you create with Touchnote is free. After that, you will need to buy additional credits to send more cards. And this is one of the other enhancements to the new Touchnote app, in that it now supports in-app payments. You can buy additional credits online while using the app (using Paypal, credit card, or mobile operator billing where it is allowed), and credits are sold in packs of two, four or six. According to Touchnote, a six-pack credit should cost less than $10, which seems entirely reasonable when you consider the quality of the printed cards that you will receive.

Additional features and services with Touchnote

If you’re concerned about the time spent for data transmission when uploading your image to the Touchnote service, rest assured that the app dynamically resizes the image on your phone to prevent excess data use charges – even while roaming.

According to contacts of mine at Touchnote, all of the printed photo cards are sent from either London or New Jersey, but they distribute cards worldwide. And, they told me that if you’re planning to send a high volume of cards to a specific country, they can have a country-dedicated printer in place within two to four weeks, so plan to contact them in advance for any special orders.

Also new in this version of Touchnote is additional language support, too. The new Symbian OS, S60 5.0 version of the app supports: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, Chinese (both Simplified & Traditional), and Taiwanese language support is extensible. Further, according to Touchnote, if you need a different language than the ones currently available, translations in to other languages can be provided with a week’s notice. (Note: The version for Nokia Symbian OS, S60 3.X devices is available in English, German and Spanish.)

In short, Touchnote takes the high-quality images you can produce with your Nokia touch-enabled device out of its gallery, and into the real world where you can truly share the pictures – and the memories – with the people that you care about the most. And it does all of this in three quick steps. Who could ask for more?

Touchnote Postcards is free to download from Ovi Store; and you can now buy credits for additional photo cards directly within the app! I hope you’ll get a chance to try it for yourself.

For more information, please visit the Touchnote website.