Touchnote CEO explains Sony Ericsson revenue sharing deal
You may or may not already have heard of Touchnote, a company encouraging people to turn their myriad digital snaps into real physical postcards. But, with a new global deal that will see a Touchnote app installed on Sony Ericsson Android and Symbian handsets (including the Vivaz and Vivaz Pro), the company hopes to be in the hands of millions of mobile users by the end of 2010.
Touchnote was established online 18 months ago, and was made available for mobile six months later. It allows you, for a price between £1.49 and £1.99, to send your digital snaps to friends and family as real postcards rather than simply sending a text or email. Delivery takes the same time as the normal post, and is worldwide. Touchnote CEO Raam Thakrar, explained that the concept is not aimed at ‘those with a minimalist zen approach’, who don’t want clutter around the house. He says there will always be people who like to see things in front of them, in their home, and this is the real Touchnote audience. The company’s research suggest that for every person in the UK, an average of 100 digital photos are taken – most of which languish on cameras, phones and laptops – and it’s their aim to make sure they’re put to use.
The Sony Ericsson deal is particularly rare in that it’s based on revenue sharing – for every postcard sale made via the Touchnote app, Sony Ericsson will get a cut. Raam told me that the app will be on handsets in ‘the next few weeks’, and they hope to see ‘3,4 even 5 million handsets featuring the app’ before the year is out.
It’s an interesting concept, and it’s easy to understand why some people want physical keepsakes of special moments. And it’s certainly a global offering – Raam tells me that the first postcard order came from an Android device in Iran. But will someone who uses a phone as ‘techy’ as the Vivaz be interested in sending postcards, which seem in comparison like a step into the past?
We’ll keep you posted. (Geddit?) In the meantime, see below for some Touchnote app screenshots.
