Video Diary: Touchnote Review

by Dan Lane on 28th May 2009

  Comment Icon24

Dan Lane looks at Touchnote’s new S60 application, the first app in the Ovi store that delivers a physical product.

Give Touchnote a try for yourself at touchnote.com or grab the application directly from the Ovi store.

As a footnote, Dan tried to link directly to the Ovi store page for Touchnote but found that Ovi makes it nigh-on impossible to even find the Touchnote application let alone link to it. He’d have liked to have posted some screenshots of how Touchnote uses the Ovi store in an innovative way to provide top-ups but the Ovi store stopped working on his N95 just before recording. Dan thinks the Nokia Ovi Store is an absolute joke, his advice to the folks at Touchnote is to get your app on the iPhone, Android and Blackberry app stores as quickly as possible!

Tagged as: app stores, Nokia, ovi, reviews, S60, video diary

  • http://www.intomobile.com/ Constantine

    absolutely brilliant service, thanks for the video review! will use this.

    do they ship around the world? how much is a card?

  • http://invalid.name DanLane

    They do ship around the world and you can buy cards in packs on the Ovi store, because I can’t get into the Ovi store right now I can’t tell you what the packs costs but I paid £8 for 5 cards.

    You also get one free card when you download the app… which is very generous IMO!

  • http://lostupstairs.tumblr.com/ Constantine

    absolutely brilliant service, thanks for the video review! will use this.do they ship around the world? how much is a card?

  • http://lostupstairs.tumblr.com/ Constantine

    absolutely brilliant service, thanks for the video review! will use this.

    do they ship around the world? how much is a card?

  • http://invalid.name DanLane

    They do ship around the world and you can buy cards in packs on the Ovi store, because I can't get into the Ovi store right now I can't tell you what the packs costs but I paid £8 for 5 cards.You also get one free card when you download the app… which is very generous IMO!

  • http://invalid.name DanLane

    They do ship around the world and you can buy cards in packs on the Ovi store, because I can't get into the Ovi store right now I can't tell you what the packs costs but I paid £8 for 5 cards.

    You also get one free card when you download the app… which is very generous IMO!

  • http://shkspr.mobi/ TerenceEden

    That does look really swish.

    A similar service is offered by Vodafone* UK. MMS Postcard - http://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatch/Portal/appmanager/vodafone/wrp?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=template09&pageID=OS_0043
    You MMS your photo to a shortcode, you get back a page to fill in with name, address, message etc. I think some phones have an app built in. Costs £1.50 per card (including sending the MMS).

    Something I’ve noticed about all operators (not just Vodafone) is that they launch interesting products (BlueBook, MMS Postcard, etc) but they never seem to go anywhere. Obviously, MNOs aren’t start-up - they don’t have to continually innovate and invest tiny areas like this. But I often wish they would.

    T
    *My employers, yadda-yadda

  • http://www.twitter.com/gabeuk Gabe

    Sort of cool. But why not just email the photo?

    The point about a postcard is that you found it in the naff local tourist shop, it’s got a foreign stamp, it’s handwritten, and it’s miracle that it arrives at all.

    None of that really really applys here. Where the’s magic?

  • http://invalid.name DanLane

    Not everybody has E-Mail and there is a strong correlation between those that don’t have e-mail and those that like receiving physical things they can put on the mantelpiece. When I showed the application to my missus she immediately asked if she could have it on her iPhone so she could send postcards to her mother who has e-mail but would prefer a physical postcard.

    The magic is that sending a postcard is now just as easy as sending an e-mail.

    I sound like I’m doing marketing for them now… I should think of something negative to say. Ah I know, they sneakily put the app on the home screen. Not the crime of the century but a bit cheeky IMO!

  • http://www.twitter.com/gabeuk Gabe

    Still not convinced. The magic of a postcard is that comes from a far-away land.

    This is just a photo put through an automated business process. Where’s the emotional pull?

    I guess I could send my grandma a photo of the kids, or something. But she’d prefer a postcard they’d written with their wonky writing, with the stamp stuck on upside down. Even if it has greek donkey on it, and got creased up in the post.

    The app itself looks nicely done.

  • http://shkspr.mobi/ TerenceEden

    That does look really swish.A similar service is offered by Vodafone* UK. MMS Postcard - http://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatch/Portal/ap…You MMS your photo to a shortcode, you get back a page to fill in with name, address, message etc. I think some phones have an app built in. Costs £1.50 per card (including sending the MMS).Something I've noticed about all operators (not just Vodafone) is that they launch interesting products (BlueBook, MMS Postcard, etc) but they never seem to go anywhere. Obviously, MNOs aren't start-up - they don't have to continually innovate and invest tiny areas like this. But I often wish they would.T*My employers, yadda-yadda

  • http://shkspr.mobi/ TerenceEden

    That does look really swish.

    A similar service is offered by Vodafone* UK. MMS Postcard - http://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatch/Portal/ap…
    You MMS your photo to a shortcode, you get back a page to fill in with name, address, message etc. I think some phones have an app built in. Costs £1.50 per card (including sending the MMS).

    Something I've noticed about all operators (not just Vodafone) is that they launch interesting products (BlueBook, MMS Postcard, etc) but they never seem to go anywhere. Obviously, MNOs aren't start-up - they don't have to continually innovate and invest tiny areas like this. But I often wish they would.

    T
    *My employers, yadda-yadda

  • http://www.twitter.com/gabeuk Gabe

    Sort of cool. But why not just email the photo?The point about a postcard is that you found it in the naff local tourist shop, it's got a foreign stamp, it's handwritten, and it's miracle that it arrives at all.None of that really really applys here. Where the's magic?

  • http://www.twitter.com/gabeuk Gabe

    Sort of cool. But why not just email the photo?

    The point about a postcard is that you found it in the naff local tourist shop, it's got a foreign stamp, it's handwritten, and it's miracle that it arrives at all.

    None of that really really applys here. Where the's magic?

  • http://invalid.name DanLane

    Not everybody has E-Mail and there is a strong correlation between those that don't have e-mail and those that like receiving physical things they can put on the mantelpiece. When I showed the application to my missus she immediately asked if she could have it on her iPhone so she could send postcards to her mother who has e-mail but would prefer a physical postcard.The magic is that sending a postcard is now just as easy as sending an e-mail.I sound like I'm doing marketing for them now… I should think of something negative to say. Ah I know, they sneakily put the app on the home screen. Not the crime of the century but a bit cheeky IMO!

  • http://invalid.name DanLane

    Not everybody has E-Mail and there is a strong correlation between those that don't have e-mail and those that like receiving physical things they can put on the mantelpiece. When I showed the application to my missus she immediately asked if she could have it on her iPhone so she could send postcards to her mother who has e-mail but would prefer a physical postcard.

    The magic is that sending a postcard is now just as easy as sending an e-mail.

    I sound like I'm doing marketing for them now… I should think of something negative to say. Ah I know, they sneakily put the app on the home screen. Not the crime of the century but a bit cheeky IMO!

  • http://www.twitter.com/gabeuk Gabe

    Still not convinced. The magic of a postcard is that comes from a far-away land.This is just a photo put through an automated business process. Where's the emotional pull?I guess I could send my grandma a photo of the kids, or something. But she'd prefer a postcard they'd written with their wonky writing, with the stamp stuck on upside down. Even if it has greek donkey on it, and got creased up in the post.The app itself looks nicely done.

  • http://www.twitter.com/gabeuk Gabe

    Still not convinced. The magic of a postcard is that comes from a far-away land.

    This is just a photo put through an automated business process. Where's the emotional pull?

    I guess I could send my grandma a photo of the kids, or something. But she'd prefer a postcard they'd written with their wonky writing, with the stamp stuck on upside down. Even if it has greek donkey on it, and got creased up in the post.

    The app itself looks nicely done.

  • http://www.forum.nokia.com Contentqb

    The video demo of Touchnote is really handy - and I think the app is fantastic. However, the comments about Ovi Store associated with this post seem unfair and obviously dated. I found the Touchnote app in the Store very easily just now: http://store.ovi.com/content/2789

    Dan - Perhaps it is time to revisit those first impressions about Ovi Store? Hope so.

    Happy New Year.

  • http://www.forum.nokia.com Contentqb

    The video demo of Touchnote is really handy - and I think the app is fantastic. However, the comments about Ovi Store associated with this post seem unfair and obviously dated. I found the Touchnote app in the Store very easily just now: http://store.ovi.com/content/2789 Dan - Perhaps it is time to revisit those first impressions about Ovi Store? Hope so. Happy New Year.

  • http://www.forum.nokia.com Contentqb

    The video demo of Touchnote is really handy - and I think the app is fantastic. However, the comments about Ovi Store associated with this post seem unfair and obviously dated. I found the Touchnote app in the Store very easily just now: http://store.ovi.com/content/2789

    Dan - Perhaps it is time to revisit those first impressions about Ovi Store? Hope so.

    Happy New Year.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    They’re dated because they were made in May - as the post clearly indicates. I’ve met with George Linardos recently ( http://thereallymobileproject.com/2009/12/exclusive-ovi-store-ships-hi-def-movie/ ) and apart from the lovely present he brought me, news of Ovi Store improvements were most welcome. We will be covering these as in the new year, but we won’t be removing or revising the record of how poor it was at launch.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    They're dated because they were made in May - as the post clearly indicates. I've met with George Linardos recently ( http://thereallymobileproject.com/2009/12/exclu… ) and apart from the lovely present he brought me, news of Ovi Store improvements were most welcome. We will be covering these as in the new year, but we won't be removing or revising the record of how poor it was at launch.

  • http://benjam.in Ben Smith

    They're dated because they were made in May - as the post clearly indicates. I've met with George Linardos recently ( http://thereallymobileproject.com/2009/12/exclu… ) and apart from the lovely present he brought me, news of Ovi Store improvements were most welcome. We will be covering these as in the new year, but we won't be removing or revising the record of how poor it was at launch.

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