Yesterday, Ebay announced a new app that aims to simplify the designing and purchasing of custom 3D printed items. “Exact“, out now for iPhone lets you customize and purchase your own items from within the app.
Steve Yankovich, Vice President of Innovation and New Ventures for eBay spoke highly of his company’s new app: “Shoppers today not only want to buy items anytime, anywhere through mobile devices, but they also want to be able to personalize their purchases. eBay Exact brings these two desires into one shopping experience.”
You can choose from 3D-printed products like watches, iPhone cases, jewelry, etc. from Makerbot, Hot Pop Factory, and Sculpteo. The app has a limited selection of 18 items for now, but that’s sure to increase. Your selection is customizable in several ways, from colors to materials. The selection is mostly phone cases (starting around $9) and jewelry (as high as $350) and the entire creation and purchasing experience happens in-app.
No word yet about Exact coming to Android or other platforms, but ports should be in the pipeline soon as long as the iPhone app does well. With even the most affordable 3D printers costing thousands, it will be awhile before home 3d printing catches on in widespread way (if ever). Options like Exact offer the unique customization of 3D printing to anyone with an iPhone. Pretty neat, if you ask me!