eBay launches Windows 8 Store app
News just got in that the Windows 8 store hit 400 apps in the Release Preview of the operating system. This may not seem like much but users have to consider that this is just a preview of the operating system, and that the store currently does not accept paid apps at all.
Popular auction company eBay has just released a Metro app for Windows 8 that brings part of the eBay experience to the Metro interface. When you first launch the eBay app after installation you see a lots of whitespace, the list of daily deals, and buttons linking to messages, sign in, buying or watching parts of the app. Most features require you to sign in to your eBay account to make use of them. Only two features are available without logging in, and those are the deals listing and search.
If you look closely, you will notice that search is not really displayed here. This is one of the things that Windows 8 users have to understand to use the operating system effectively. If you do not see a search option in an app, you can still search that app using the operating system's Charms bar.
The big issue here is usability. If you do not know that you can use the Charms Bar search to search in apps, you may miss out on the feature completely. The majority of Windows 8 shopping apps for instance ship without a button or link to a search option.
The search results are displayed in the app with options at the bottom to sort and filter results based on condition, price and other factors.
Individual items are displayed with little details in the app, but with an option to switch to the eBay website to open the full auction listing there.
What you do not get in the app are the seller's description, additional screenshots, the seller's location, shipping options or item specifics.
So how usable is the eBay app for Windows 8? If you do not sign in, it is not really offering anything that you can't get faster on eBay directly. When you sign in though, you find useful information displayed to you after all including new messages, items that you are watching, buying or selling, and a list of past searches that you have run on the site.
One thing that is not ideal in my opinion is that the eBay app on the start page is not displaying any contents whatsoever. You do not see information about items where someone outbid you, new messages, or notifications when an auction that you are watching or bidding on is close to an end.
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Needing an app to replace a bookmark doesn’t feel like progress.
I can’t help but feel that ARM Tablets and Smartphones are better toys than tools. Now that I’ve owned an Android smartphone for more than a year, I notice that email and GPS are the only 2 functions that are actually useful, the rest is just a light show.
Hopefully by Win 9 x86 devices will be reasonably priced, sized, powerful and efficient.
“News just got in that the Windows 8 store hit 400 apps in the Release Preview of the operating system. This may not seem like much but users have to consider that this is just a preview of the operating system, and that the store currently does not accept paid apps at all.”…
Don’t hold your breath as there won’t be much more than that.
As Valve co-founder Gabe Newell put it yesterday :
“I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. I think we’ll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. ”
http://allthingsd.com/20120725/valves-gabe-newell-on-the-future-of-games-wearable-computers-windows-8-and-more/
This after Forbes magazine from last month has crowned Ballmer as the worse CEO on the planet.
As much as I like Valve and their games, they do have an agenda of their own and I think what Gabe said should be taken with a grain of salt.
Rob Pardo, the Executive Vice President at Blizzard Entertainment, used his Twitter page to state:
nice interview with Gabe Newell – “I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space* – not awesome for Blizzard either….
So, the 2 biggest games for PC companies don’t like Windows 8.
Not because it is bad for gamers. They fear that Microsoft is creating a closed system that is keeping them and their profits out. I can see where they are coming from, especially since it is not really clear how Windows 9 will look like. If Microsoft expands the store to all applications, it could very well mean trouble for them.
@Martin Brinkmann,
I don’t think it is just the store. Just like Mozilla, VLC, Google… complained to the EU
about Microsoft not sharing API data, which lead to EU investigations.
Microsoft anticipate OEMs and other to dump Windows 8/RT.
Microsoft’s 10K to SEC this week :
… our Surface devices will compete with products made by our OEM partners, which may affect their commitment to our platform.
On Windows 8 :
Its success depends on a number of factors including the extent to which customers embrace its new user interface and functionality, successfully coordinating with our OEM partners in releasing a variety of hardware devices that take advantage of its features, and attracting developers at scale to ensure a competitive array of quality applications. We expect to incur substantial marketing costs in launching Window 8 and associated services and devices, which may reduce our operating margins.
What frightens me about Windows 8 is the same thing Martin Brinkman says at 5:53. It is a danger for all software developers if Microsoft decides to sit between them and their clients and take a 30% cut. Where is the morality of an extremely wealthy such as Microsoft to take 30% of any developer? We are taking about Windows Store.