Planning a trip to Israel? Might want to leave that iPad at home. The Israeli Communications Ministry has ordered customs agents in the country to confiscate all Apple iPads from overseas passengers, The Christian Science Monitor reports.
The move apparently comes after the ministry’s engineering staff could not agree on a means to test the iPad’s compatibility with Israel’s wireless networks.
“The iPad device sold exclusively today in the United States operates at broadcast power levels [over its WiFi modem] compatible with American standards,” according to statement published by the Monitor. “As the Israeli regulations in the area of WiFi are similar to European standards, which are different from American standards, which permit broadcasting at lower power, therefore the broadcast levels of the device prevent approving its use in Israel.”
One man had his iPad taken away and placed in a customs warehouse. He will have to apply to the Israeli government to have it shipped back to the U.S.
Apple announced yesterday that it has sold 500,000 of the tablets since its April 3 debut, but increased demand has prompted the company to delay international sales for one month, until the end of May.
Resource:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2362697,00.asp
