With the WAC launch yesterday focussing attention on operator app strategies, Telefonica and eBay chose today to announce that will work to put eBay available on most smart phones and feature phones sold by the company via its O2 brand in the UK.
This is the first mobile pre-load deal agreed by eBay anywhere in the world, and the first time Telefonica has selected an app to make available to its O2 smart and feature phone customers across the board. O2 customers in the UK will have access to the app first, but Telefonica expects to roll out the app in its other markets.
Starting later this year, Telefonica said that the eBay mobile app icon, or a link to the eBay mobile site, will appear on either the home page or two subsequent pages of most Android, Windows Phone 7, Symbian, RIM and bada devices sold by O2 in the UK over the next two years. The company will work with device manufacturers to pre-install the application.
Glyn Povah, Head of Content at Telefonica O2 Europe said, “Deals like this help brands stand out in the increasingly cluttered app marketplace.”
Steve Yankovich, Vice President of Mobile, eBay said, “The future of shopping for our customers is mobile. We will continue to invest in mobile technology and work with partners to extend our market-leading position in m-commerce, and to give customers the shopping experience they demand.”