eBay goes mobile with Opera Mini
Opera and eBay.de announced in a press release the availability of a special edition Opera Mini designed to bring eBay mobile edition to mobile phones in Germany. eBay Germany has 20 million customers, making it the largest eBay community outside of the USA. In total, eBay has more than 193 million registered users worldwide.
"With this pilot project our users will get a new eBay browsing experience on their mobile phones," says Björn Behrendt, Senior Manager Platform Solutions, eBay Germany. "We are excited to provide our users with full access to all of eBay's auctions on their mobile phones - whenever and wherever they are."
The fully customized Opera Mini eBay edition offers direct, mobile access to eBay's content and functions through an eBay search field and bookmarks displayed on the browser's start page. An integrated eBay menu page lets users browse, bid, buy and sell using their mobile phones, just like they do on their PCs. Because the Opera Mini eBay edition is a Web browser, they can also surf the full Web with the speed and ease-of-use for which Opera Mini is renowned.
Using Opera's unique Small-Screen Rendering (SSR) technology, Opera Mini reformats regular Web pages to fit the width of mobile screens. This enables Web sites and content providers, such as eBay, to reach mobile users with their existing Web sites, without having to invest heavily in mobile specific solutions. This allows for instant access to the mobile mass market.
"The Web is rapidly expanding from the PC realm to mobile phones, and our partnership with eBay is a terrific example of how a Web based service can reach the mobile mass market with their existing solutions through Opera Mini," says Rolf Assev, CCO, Opera Software. "We are very pleased to work with eBay to offer their users full access to eBay's Online Marketplace and the full Web on their phones."
Availability
The Opera Mini eBay edition is available as a free WAP download by directing the phone's WAP browser to http://mini.opera.com/ebay/ or by sending an SMS with OPERA to 88881 (€0.49).
* Screenshots of the Opera Mini eBay edition: http://www.opera.com/press/images/mini/ebay/.
* SMS only available in Germany.
About eBay
Founded in 1995, eBay created a powerful platform for the sale of goods and services by a passionate community of individuals and businesses. On any given day, there are millions of items across thousands of categories for sale on eBay. eBay enables trade on a local, national and international basis with customized sites in markets around the world. Through an array of services, such as its payment solution provider PayPal, eBay is enabling global e-commerce for an ever-growing online community. You can find all of eBay Germany´s wireless offerings here: http://unterwegs.ebay.de/.
About Opera Software ASA
Opera Software ASA has redefined Web browsing for PCs, mobile phones and other networked devices. Opera's cross- platform Web browser technology is renowned for its small size, performance and standards-compliance, while giving users a faster, safer and more dynamic online experience. Opera Software is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices around the world. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.
