eBay Offering mComm and Augmented Reality Tools

Marketing Vox reports that eBay is upgrading the mobile apps for its various sites. "There is a new 'Half.com for iPhone' app that lets shoppers compare prices and sell products with barcode scanning functionality. Other enhancements let users pay for items with gift cards and coupons, share purchases on social networks and shop from other Apple devices."

With the Half.com for iPhone app you can:

• Shop, compare and sell with the barcode scanner. Use the barcode scanner to search for the item you are looking to buy or sell. Compare prices or see what you can sell your items for on Half.com. If you want to sell, simply enter a few details about the item and you’re done!
• Easily search and browse. Half.com has millions of titles in books, textbooks, music, movies, games and game systems. With this app you can easily find what you are looking for.
• Enjoy fast, secure checkout. Use the Speedy Checkout setting with Half.com to make purchases on the go—it’s safe, simple, and fast.
• Manage active listings. Easily update, manage, or delete your current items for sale.
• Use your gift cards and coupons.  Enter your gift card and coupon codes when checking out and save even more!
• Share on social networks. Find a great deal? Want to increase the visibility of your listings? Share items via social networks like Facebook or Twitter, or even over email.
• Shop from other Apple devices. This app is compatible with both the iPad and iPod Touch.

Augemented Reality
"eBay is also adding augmented reality (AR) to the mobile app that it launched five months ago for the iPhone 4, according to All Things Digital. A first for eBay, the new AR functionality gives users the choice to "See It On" as well as to build an outfit with "Outfit Builder."

If a customer is shopping for sunglasses, for instance, "With the former, iPhone 4 owners take a picture of themselves and then pinch and zoom to fit the glasses to their face. With the latter, a user designates favorite items of clothing for their 'Personalized Closet.' Then the app mixes and matches the pieces into outfits that can be saved or shared."