Cards service is no longer available on iPhone and iPad

A FAQ web page published Tuesday confirmed that Apple has quietly discontinued the “Cards” app and companion service for creating letterpress cards and having them delivered for one low price.Apple’s Frequently Asked Questions page explains:

As of September 10, 2013, the Cards iOS app service is no longer available.  Cards ordered before 1 PM Pacific time on September 10, 2013, will be delivered, and push notifications will continue to work. You can view your previous purchases by tapping Saved Cards in the app.

The Cards app debuted on October 12, 2011 as a way to send custom letterpress cards for almost any occasion to up to 12 recipients for only $2.99 (U.S.) or $4.99 (international), eventually getting a version 2.0 bump with native iPad support last year.

Here is how USPS announced the partnership with Apple:

The “Cards” app allows users to create personalized greeting cards with their own text and photos and have them delivered by First-Class Mail to any address in the world.

Users can choose from 21 different letterpress designs covering six different subjects: Birthdays, holidays, births, travel, thank-you notes and love letters. The cards are printed on cotton paper and tucked in an envelope with a unique picture permit sticker by Apple’s third-party printer. The sticker displays a heart-shaped image and is printed in two different colors — yellow for domestic postage and blue for international.

Customers sending cards in the U.S. receive email notification of scheduled arrival times using the Postal Service’s Intelligent Mail barcode. Including postage, each card is $2.99 when sent within the U.S. and $4.99 when sent to or from anywhere else.

Postal employees should note that these mailpieces arrive with the pre-cancellation display — “First-Class Mail / U.S. Postage Paid, Permit #4322” — along with the mail entry date, with its sticker “cancelled”. They are sorted, handled and delivered according to First-Class Mail delivery standards. Special handling is not required since the Postal Service’s systems are programmed to recognize the unique picture permit sticker. Postal Service Operations and Marketing employees worked closely with Apple to help the company develop the picture permit for this product.

The Cards app was suppose to be a “new revenue stream for USPS” that is generated online. USPS said, “Forget the talk that electronic messages will spell the end of traditional mail. The initiative is an excellent example of how it’s working with industry to infuse the mail experience with technology.”

Apple recommended using iPhoto, a photo-sharing appp on the Mac as an alternative way to create “beautiful letterpress cards customized with your photos and text ,” but notes that they are shipped via carriers like FedEx rather than through USPS.