iPhone 4 package tracking on the sly
Apple often sneaks in minor improvements in software like iOS4 without much in the way of fanfare. It’s fun to run across such things in the normal course of using the iPhone, such as this package tracking improvement.
When the latest and greatest iOS came out, much was made of some of the improvements in the operating system, like FaceTime, multitasking, and improved email. While these were indeed major improvements, some of the simpler things that were added are also pretty cool. Just like we all love to get packages from UPS and FedEx, we also have fun tracking them from the shipping point to our front doors. I noticed this new mini-feature when I made my first Newegg order after I got my iPhone 4.
There are apps out that specialize in tracking shipments, of course. Deliveries, from Junecloud, comes to mind as an app that does a very good job of this. But if you don’t feel like you need yet another app on your iPhone or Touch, you can often use a new feature that the iPhone developers added in iOS4 instead. Now most common shipping tracking numbers are recognized by the email app and highlighted for you, in just the same way that it recognizes telephone numbers and is able to dial them.
In the case of tracking numbers, the email app will recognize at least those tracking numbers from UPS and Fedex and will show them as a link. Clicking on that link will take you to the proper shipping company page with your shipment already shown. This allows one-tap package tracking from the iPhone. Of course the tracking is on the regular shipper’s website and not formated for the smaller screen of the iPhone, but it sure beats having to go to the site and type in those monster tracking numbers.
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