Hanukkah is almost here! In less than two weeks, the Festival of Lights will commence…but have you thought about Hanukkah cards yet?

Inevitably, buying (or making) a dozen or more holiday cards feels superfluous and even a little silly. Should you really be spending this much money on cards? And what if you’re giving a digital gift, like a gift certificate—is a physical card necessary? E-cards are cool, but let’s admit it; most websites make mailing digital cards a hassle.

Happy Hanukkah is yet another app attempting to bridge this dilema. It’s almost an e-card app, in that you’re sending a pretty picture instead of a few lines of text, but the image is embedded and thus requires no clicking through to an outside site.

The app contains over 70 different cards to choose from, featuring dreidels, menorahs, hanukkiahs, and (naturally) the words, “Happy Hanukkah!” From the Happy Hanukkah app, you can pick which image to use, and then drop into into an email. Then, you can add a bit of personalized text above the embedded image if you want to before sending the virtual card on its way.

Simple? Certainly, but that’s the aim of Happy Hanukkah anyway.

The below video showcases some of the different images included in the app. If it appeals to you, check it out on the App Store for $0.99. Now if only it could buy presents for you, too…

$0.99

Happy Hanukkah

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-10-27 :: Category: Lifestyle

Following our report on the launch of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s Square app and payment service for iPhone, Visa and DeviceFidelity have joined the iPhone payment market with a solution named In2Pay. This time, enabling iPhone uses to make contactless payments with their device rather than receive them.

Announced today, the In2Pay solution allows iPhone users to make “contactless transactions” by positioning their iPhone in front of a contactless payment terminal. In order to use the service, the iPhone must be housed within DeviceFidelity’s protective case, which uses microSD technology. The case is said to allow “mobile contactless capability” to the iPhone and is compatible with the 3G and 3GS models.

In a press release, Visa says: “By placing a removable In2Pay microSD into the protective case, iPhone users can take advantage of In2Pay’s secure contactless capabilities where contactless transactions are offered. They range from buying goods in retail stores and at unattended kiosks, to transit ticketing, and even securely accessing buildings and computers networks.”

Trials of the service are scheduled to start during the second quarter of this year.

The service builds on Visa’s payWave technology for contactless transactions and uses the DeviceFidelity In2Pay technology to make use of any mobile phones with a microSD memory slot. This suggests that the iPhone may not be the only device Visa is aiming In2Pay at. The iPhone, of course, does not currently support microSD and therefore needs a casing to house the microSD card.

“The more than 200,000 apps on the App Store are an integral part of iPhone users’ lives.” said Amitaabh Malhotra, COO, DeviceFidelity. “With our In2Pay solution, we want to give both iPhone users and app developers the power to do even more, by putting the convenience of interactive secure mobile transactions, right at their fingertips, anywhere they are.”

The In2Pay case is apparently designed to stay attached to the iPhone and offers a micro USB slot for charging and syncing their device.

It will be interesting to see how the service will be priced by Visa when it comes to roll out the service and, whether or not the DeviceFidelity case will be free or part of a subscription package. While the additional case could be seen as a benefit to some, many iPhone users dislike the idea of any housing that adds weight or thickness to the device and others preferring specific cases.

We’ve been closely following the buzz surrounding Square, the latest tech startup from Jack Dorsey, Co-Founder and Chairman of Twitter and now it’s live worldwide with its app available on the App Store.

Square is an ingenious app and payment service that allows anyone from a single user to businesses to accept credit card payments anywhere using just an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Those who sign up to the free Square service available at Squareup.com will receive a free card reader that plugs into the audio jack of your device and allows for cards to be swiped. Card details can be entered into the app manually if no reader is present. Receipts and photo verification are included with the service so users are sure of secure transactions with signatures signed on the iPhone screen.

In an open letter on the Square website, Jack Dorsey said:
“Square intends to bring immediacy, transparency, and approachability to the financial world. We want to enable all people to accept payments instantly, with access to all the information they need, in a way that feels amazing and engaging.”

This service will come as a great benefit to smaller businesses or mobile vendors who no longer need to put complex payment systems into place to complete transactions on the road or in person. Square is also keen to point out that, while attractive to the business market, the service is ideal for personal use too and uses the example of a man selling a sofa to his friend using his iPhone and Square.

The environmental benefits of the service are also clear with no paper bills or receipts created from any transaction. Square also points out that it can inform businesses of its repeat customers meaning loyalty cards may be a thing of the past.

So what’s the catch for this free service? It seems there really isn’t one. By comparison to other payment services, Square is a very reasonable option with no contracts or monthly minimums. Square takes a small percentage of each transaction, currently 2.75% +15 ¢ with the card present and 3.5% +15¢ when the card number is keyed in. That’s it!

Of course, a service like Square may take a little time to grow but, if it’s as easy to use as is promised and continues to offer the environmental and financial benefits it does currently, we could likely see Square becoming the default payment service in stores around the world.

After all, it’s not like Mr Dorsey’s other company is doing badly right now.