In a move that further signals the migration of the paper-based world to the Internet, a Manhattan-based company today released a free mobile business card application for Apple’s iPhone (News - Alert) and iPod Touch.

 

Most of us, during working hours and certainly when traveling out of the office on business, keep a small pile of business cards ready to hand out.

 

Today, officials at SnapDat Networks, Inc. say they’re revolutionizing that process with a free application that creates so-called “SnapCards,” which are customizable, graphically rich mobile business cards.

 

“We give mobile users the power to establish social or business connections where they naturally occur - while on the go,” said Chris James, SnapDat’s founder and chief executive officer.

 

Features include the ability to create personalized mobile business cards with 40 preloaded design templates, and new designs will continue to be added for further customization.

 

The application doesn’t require users to be in the same room, SnapDat officials say, and they can exchange contact information whether they are in the same location or thousands of miles away.

 

Here’s an example of some different styles:

 

 

Here’s one of its main features: The application integrates with the iPhone and iPod touch address book so that the details from a received SnapCard will be automatically written to the native address book as well as to the user’s computer when they synchronize their device.

 

The application’s SnapDirectory acts as a digital rolodex, company officials say, where users can click on a SnapCard to email, call or text a contact, map their address, visit their social networking sites or view their favorite YouTube (News - Alert) videos.

 

“Finally, SnapDat allows iPhone and iPod touch users to connect with anyone, even if their contacts don’t share the same device,” according to the company. “SnapDat users can email their vCards to recipients, allowing them to send their contact information to Blackberry devices, Windows Mobile phones and other email- enabled mobile devices.