EBay is letting smartphone users in the United States discover deals and local listings by simply scanning the area around them using mobile augmented reality.

EBay Classifieds teamed up with junaio for this initiative. Now, with junaio?s keyword and pinpoint geographic filtering, users can discover eBay Classifieds listings around them through an augmented reality viewer.

?Classifieds is all about being local,? said Jack Sheu, director of marketing at eBay Classifieds. ?San Jose, CA. ?It?s about connecting people so they can transact what they want, where they want.

?And now with augmented reality browsing on smartphones, we?re excited to be taking the next step to make this process even more fun and engaging,? he said. 

EBay is the global leader in online classifieds and auctions.

Junaio is a mobile augmented reality browser that presents users with interesting content relevant to their location or triggered through images and objects the phone?s camera is pointing at.

Bargains in the vicinity
The new junaio eBay Classifieds channel gives smartphone users an instant view of what items and services are available in their neighborhood.

Here is a screen grab of what the augmented reality view would look like for consumers inside their homes, looking for location-based deals:

With the eBay Classifieds 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 users point the camera at an apartment building, they will see eBay Classifieds listings for the apartments for rent in that building.

Additionally, consumers can point the camera down the street to see items such as furniture, vehicles and even pets available for adoption right in their own neighborhood.

?The strategy is about mobile discovery of location-based deals around the user and putting the user?s location at the center of the discovery process,? Mr. Sheu said. ?We are getting the word out about this via email campaigns to end users, landing pages, press pitches and fun mission videos.

?Using augmented reality and location based technology, eBay and us are taking classifieds to a whole new level. It?s about discovering the items for sale around you and having fun while doing it," said Lusa Murphy, product marketing manager for junaio. "It?s also about putting the user and his/her location at the center of the ?search? process and making it more efficient to find things that are relevant based on proximity.?

?We are also doing more and more projects based on image processing and computer vision. We just recently launched a campaign for GSMA for their print advertisements in Fortune and Time magazines,? she said.

Final take
Here is one of eBay?s promotional videos for the new augmented reality-powered Classifieds.
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