eBay Launches the Beta Version of Desktop

Days ago we blogged about the idea of some sites going beyond the browser with the help of Ajax technology. Personally, I was thinking that something like this will happen in a few months time but not days. Now we’ll be given a glimpse on how a desktop version of a website will look like if applied with Ajax.

eBay is the world’s leading online auction site with millions worth of sales everyday and millions of hits from customers who just wanted to take a look at things for sale. It created a whole new meaning of online businesses and home based business has taken on a new route with the help of this website.

The experience with eBay is varied but they all point out into one thing: if you’re looking for great bargains, eBay will definitely be there. Now, eBay will try to revolutionize not only the online business market but a new trend of out-of-the-browser experience. eBay has launched their beta version desktop software called Desktop eBay. This free software could be launched from your desktop, no need to go to eBay’s website to get the latest bargains and bids.

Just like kids excited with a new toy, we tried to give it a test run on just how cool will this be. We went to http://desktop.ebay.com/ and downloaded the software. When you start the application, you will notice another action aside from installation. In order for the program to run, it will need to download Adobe’s AIR.

Desktop eBay will not run with out the prior download of AIR. That means Ajax is definitely written all over this software. After we finished installation, we were prompted to sign in with our eBay account and were presented with a very cool interface. Its very user friendly compared to the website.

In eBay’s website you sill have to wait for the page to load before everything comes up. The desktop version of eBay doesn’t do that. You can launch the software in full screen mode and see how you can easily navigate from one auction to another. No need for the page to load, clicking and saving a product for future bidding is really easy.

Of course, since it’s on beta version it does have its limitations. For one, its only good for US customers so the rest of the world has to wait a little bit more. If you sign up using an account not from the US, it will not show any results instead it will show an error of “invalid zip code”.

If the software will be a runaway hit, other websites will definitely follow. Months from now, your favorite websites might be able to come up with their desktop versions. Softwares that will integrate your favorite websites without using the browser are definitely coming. For now, let’s just wait for the stable version of eBay’s desktop software before we could make our final judgment. It’s not just eBay who is on the line here but also of the ability of Adobe AIR and ultimately Ajax to move us out of the browser.