WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service has launched a new mobile application for iPhone users that allows them to use the device’s camera to scan barcodes on shipping labels for quick, easy and convenient tracking of their packages and other mail. The application stores the label numbers so customers can easily recheck the status of their shipments. The scanner function is available on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPad 2.

“Whenever and wherever they are, customers can check the delivery status of their shipments by simply scanning the barcodes on their shipping label receipts,” said Kelly Sigmon, vice president, Channel Access. “Millions of Americans are making mobile devices a part of their daily lives, and we’re providing solutions that meet their needs.”

Users also can use the new app to schedule a free next-day carrier pickup of their packages. “After scheduling a next-day pickup, customers will get an email confirmation when the request is made, when the package is picked up, and when the pickup request is modified or canceled,” said Sigmon.

Since launching in Oct. 2009, the Postal Service iPhone application has been repeatedly ranked as a top-10 free business application. The latest version has a new home screen with icons directing customers to available services. In addition to tracking packages and scheduling free package pickups, customers also can order free expedited shipping supplies and view retail and online prices.

When ordering free expedited shipping supplies from their iPhones, customers can choose from Express Mail and Priority Mail boxes and envelopes, select quantities desired and save a record of the transactions.

For added convenience, the new mobile app allows customers to access to their saved contact lists on their iPhone or iPad device.

These new features build on services already available through the Postal Service’s online mobile technology, including the ability to locate nearby Post Offices and find a ZIP Code. Postal Service mobile apps also are available for BlackBerry and Android. More than 3 million people each month use Postal Service mobile apps. Go to usps.com/mobile to learn more about these mobile solutions.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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