eBay Classifieds Get The Augmented Reality Touch

Augmented Reality (AR) firm metaio is teaming up with eBay Classifieds to help smartphone users in the US discover local listings by simply scanning the area around them with their onboard camera and metaio’s junaio AR browser.

eBay Classifieds offers buyers and sellers a free, local marketplace to trade goods and services. The new junaio eBay Classifieds channel gives smartphone users an instant view of what items and services are available in their neighborhood.

With the channel activated, users can discover listings near them simply by pointing the smartphone`s camera around them to see active listings pop up over the camera`s view. For example, when you point the camera at an apartment building, you will see eBay Classifieds listings for the apartments for rent in that building. Users can point the camera down the street to see items such as furniture, vehicles and even pets available for adoption in their own neighborhood.

“No other technology is better suited than augmented reality to display easy to access, location sensitive information to mobile users, especially on small screens. This is why we are very pleased to welcome eBay Classifieds on junaio,” says metaio CTO, Peter Meier. “Hardly any data needs to be entered by users; their position and a single keyword are sufficient to lead them to available classified opportunities within easy reach. Location-specific classified ads are very useful to our growing user community, and we hope to soon expand this service to other parts of the world.”

junaio can be downloaded for free from iTunes or Android Market. Once the app is launched, users can find the eBay Classifieds channel by typing ‘eBay’ into the search field. Users can narrow the results by distance and keyword. Clicking on one of the displayed listings will lead to the object`s description, price, available images and the seller`s contact information. For convenience, users can also view listings on a map view of the area, or in the form of a list.