eBay scored its first mobile pre-load deal with a carrier. Their “partner in crime” is the Spanish group Telefónica, which will pre-install eBay’s mobile app on an array of devices it offers through O2 UK.
The deal includes both feature phones and smartphones, spanning multiple platforms like Android, Windows Phone 7, Symbian and Bada. Telefónica will work directly with handset makers to make this happen. If everything goes as planned — and we’ve no idea what’s in it for the operator here — Telefónica will do the same in other markets it operates.
As you may know, Telefónica is one of the biggest carrier groups in the world, operating under O2 and Movistar brands. In addition to having a strong presence in Europe, the company is pretty much ruling the Latin America alongside America Movil.
eBay on its end is looking to the mobile channel for expansion. Last year, mobile generated $2 billion in sales for the auction company and it is expected that the figure doubles in 2011. Unsurprisingly, UK is the strongest market in Europe for eBay, with an item being purchased on average every two seconds through the eBay buyer app.
Finally, we’re sure this is just a beginning for eBay’s expansion into mobile. We’ve no doubts they’re negotiating with Vodafone, T-Mobile and Orange as we speak…
[Via: TechCrunch]