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USPS bans international shipping of smartphones starting Thursday

USPS bans international shipping of smartphones starting Thursday

Posted: 15 May 2012, 00:49, by Alan F.

Categories: Interesting facts Interesting facts

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USPS bans international shipping of smartphones starting Thursday

Wednesday will be the last day that the U.S. Postal Service will accept smartphones for international shipping. Actually, smartphones are but one item on a list that includes other electronic devices that are powered by lithium ioncbatteries such as cameras, laptops, GPS devices, MP3 players, tablets, Bluetooth headsets and power tools. While the USPS did not explicitly state the reason behind the ban, it is believed to be related to the possibility of lithium ion batteries catching on fire if they are not correctly installed in a device, or have a full charge.

"After May 16, mailing an iPad to a loved one serving overseas would require mailing it to a civilian address in the host country -- which, for a country like Kuwait, would make the price jump from the current Military Priority Mail rate of $5.30 to more than $20."-Fast Company

Lithium ion smartphone battery

According to Fast Company, fires started by lithium batteries has been the reason for, "at least two fatal cargo plane crashes since 2006, including a UPS jet in Dubai." You can check out the video below to see how destructive a lithium ion battery can be. In the meantime, if you absolutely, positively need to ship a smartphone out of North America, third party shippers such as FedEx, UPS and DHL will be more than happy to have your business. Last year, President Obama's administration wanted to change the classification of lithium ion to a hazardous material. The House, sensing a possibility for some economic displacement if such a law was passed, managed to get through a bill that would prevent limitations of the shipping of lithium ion by air.

The USPS will review the ban as the months go by, and could decide to allow smartphones and the other lithium battery powered products to ship through its pipelines again on January 1st 2013. If that decision is made, the one requirement will be that the batteries are properly installed in the phone or whatever device is being shipped.

source: USPS, FastCompany via WPCentral

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1. Forsaken77 posted on 15 May 2012, 01:27 4 0

Just make it mandatory that the batteries be detached from the device. The USPS is already losing alot of money. This is just gonna unnecessarily add to the problem.

3. plgladio posted on 15 May 2012, 03:28 0 0

In that case Apple and few other devices will fail.

4. PhoneLuver posted on 15 May 2012, 03:29 0 0

That would exclude shipping almost all Apple products..

2. StrumerJohn posted on 15 May 2012, 02:29 0 4

Ehh who cares. UPS and FedEX are the s**t-- waaaay faster shipping

6. MATOZ posted on 15 May 2012, 10:37 1 1

I care! Dumb A$$!!, And it's waaaay expensive shipping too, m0r0n!

8. jmoita2 posted on 15 May 2012, 10:46 1 1

And about 10 times the price too!!!

9. miles16852 posted on 15 May 2012, 16:20 1 1

i guess you got money to BURN strummerJohn! UPSP is cheaper!

10. StrumerJohn posted on 16 May 2012, 03:00 0 0

Haven't heard of them. And USPS is not cheap at all lol... I ship stuff daily when ever I sell stuff on eBay and their international rates are far more expensive than FedEX or UPS'.

5. kg4icg posted on 15 May 2012, 08:51 1 0

If the FAA says we can't carry devices with installed lithium ion batteries in them which they cannot be removed, then there is nothing Fedex or UPS can do. Oh by the way, UPS and Fedex carry USPS mail on there planes. I myself work for Fedex.

7. MATOZ posted on 15 May 2012, 10:44 0 0

Indeed, FAA maybe bans to use ours 'phones, tablets and even my kid's game console... during in a flight too.

So, your right, must private carriers are got screwed, too!

11. jmoita2 posted on 16 May 2012, 10:10 0 0

The boneheads that are happy about this will have a nasty surprise next time they buy a phone or tablet on Ebay. Can you say 50.00 shipping???

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Samsung Galaxy S4
- Announced: 14 Mar 2013
- OS: Android 4.2.2
- Hardware: Quad core, 1900 MHz, Krait 300, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 5.0 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 13 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
Apple iPhone 5
- Announced: 12 Sep 2012
- OS: iOS
- Hardware: Dual core, 1300 MHz, Apple Swift, 1016 MB RAM
- Display: 4.0 inches, 640 x 1136 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900), CDMA (800 1700/2100 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS EV-DO Rev.A EV-DO Rev.B
Samsung GALAXY Note II
- Announced: 29 Aug 2012
- OS: Android 4.1.2 4.1.1
- Hardware: Quad core, 1600 MHz, ARM Cortex-A9, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 5.5 inches, 720 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 35 hours of Talk Time, 980 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
HTC One
- Announced: 19 Feb 2013
- OS: Android 4.1.2
- Hardware: Quad core, 1700 MHz, Krait 300, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 4.7 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 4 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900), CDMA (800 1900)
- Data: LTE HSPA (unspecified) UMTS EDGE GPRS
Sony Xperia Z
- Announced: 07 Jan 2013
- OS: Android 4.1.2
- Hardware: Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 5.0 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 13.1 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 11 hours of Talk Time, 550 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
Google Nexus 4
- Announced: 29 Oct 2012
- OS: Android 4.2.2 4.2.1 4.2
- Hardware: Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 4.7 inches, 768 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 15.3 hours of Talk Time, 390 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
LG Optimus G
- Announced: 28 Aug 2012
- OS: Android 4.1.2 4.0.4
- Hardware: Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 4.7 inches, 768 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 13 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 15 hours of Talk Time, 335 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE HSPA (unspecified) UMTS EDGE GPRS
Nokia Lumia 920
- Announced: 05 Sep 2012
- OS: Windows Phone 8
- Hardware: Dual core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 1024 MB RAM
- Display: 4.5 inches, 768 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8.7 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 17 hours of Talk Time, 400 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS

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USPS bans international shipping of smartphones starting Thursday

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11 Comments Follow Following

1. Forsaken77 posted on 15 May 2012, 01:27 4 0

3. plgladio posted on 15 May 2012, 03:28 0 0

4. PhoneLuver posted on 15 May 2012, 03:29 0 0

2. StrumerJohn posted on 15 May 2012, 02:29 0 4

6. MATOZ posted on 15 May 2012, 10:37 1 1

8. jmoita2 posted on 15 May 2012, 10:46 1 1

9. miles16852 posted on 15 May 2012, 16:20 1 1

10. StrumerJohn posted on 16 May 2012, 03:00 0 0

5. kg4icg posted on 15 May 2012, 08:51 1 0

7. MATOZ posted on 15 May 2012, 10:44 0 0

11. jmoita2 posted on 16 May 2012, 10:10 0 0

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