Verizon is trying out a scheme where it’ll offer same-day delivery for phones ordered online—first in Philadelphia, then hopefully in NYC, Dallas, San Francisco and Pittsburgh. Just in case you really, really need that new handset right now.
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Same-day delivery may not exactly be a brand new idea anymore, but it’s one that’s yet to reach its full potential, we’d say. With the launch of eBay Now last year, the internet giant kicked off a beta program where it gave iPhone users in the Bay Area the chance to order stuff from some local retailers and have it arrive on their front door an hour (or two) later. Now, the company’s announcing plans to bring its handy service to more areas around the Bay Area and New York City, with the Brooklyn and Queens boroughs expected to “soon” join Manhattan in being able to take advantage of eBay Now.
The iPhone application, meanwhile, today reached version 2.0, boasting a completely new look that’s designed to provide “an even better browsing experience.” Included in this release are also search enhancements that should make it easier to find what you’re looking for, as well as options for either PayPal or a credit card to check out. We hope eBay Now comes to more cities in the not-so-distant future, but for now, all you impatient shoppers who can use it should hit the source link below to grab the app’s latest update.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile
Source: App Store
It looks as though Walmart isn’t the only company that is making some moves with its online shopping delivery service as Google has announced it is starting to test its “Shopping Express” service in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company is partnering with big-name retailers like Target, Walgreens, Staples, American Eagle and Toys ‘R’ Us, as well as local coffee shops and independent stores and will offer early adopters six months of free, unlimited same-day delivery with prices of goods reflecting how much they cost in their respective stores.
Google will be looking to price its same-day deliver service competitively against Amazon at around $69 a year, but the company is still currently working on its pricing plan for the service that may change based on data from its early testers and retailers. The process to order same-day delivery goods is said to be as easy as buying your goods, selecting a delivery time slot and waiting for one of Google’s delivery partners to drop it off. Let’s just hope they’re able to deliver your box of popcorn and Diet Mountain Dew in time for movie night, or you can expect to be entertaining some hungry and un-caffeinated guests.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Walmart Considers Using In-Store Customers To Deliver Online Shoppers’ Packages, Facebook Buy Ticket Button Could Make Things Easier, 
TechCrunch claims that Google is “stealthily preparing” to launch a new same-day-shipping Amazon Prime competitor called Google Shopping Express. More »
Rumors have floated for the better part of a year that Google has been prepping a same-day delivery service that would pressure eBay and make even Amazon Prime seem pokey. If we’re to believe a pair of New York Times contacts, it’s much closer to reality. Google staffers and their close connections are supposedly in the midst of testing the extra-fast shipping option in San Francisco with at “at least one” major clothing chain participating alongside local shops. Most details are still missing, including the price premium for waiting mere hours as well as the implied mobile option; Google certainly isn’t talking on the record. We’re almost hoping that the story is bogus, as the last thing we need is one less reason to step outside.
NYT: Google actively trialing same-day delivery from retail for the chronically impatient originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 19:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
After eBay finally straightened out its logo and became ebay (it’ll always be camel-cased in our hearts) it seemed only logical that the site itself would get a long overdue facelift too. At a press event today in NYC the tenacious dot-com holdover unveiled the most dramatic redesign of its long and storied existence. The look has been compared, repeatedly in the media, to Pinterest with its endless, uneven grid of product boxes and curated feed of auctions. The design is cleaner, with less text and better suited to scale for mobile and the upcoming onslaught of touchscreens. You can also like auctions on Facebook, which it hopes will drive more traffic to the site. The company quietly launched eBay Lifestyle Deals as well, a local coupon service in the vein of Groupon and Google Offers. Right now the deals are only available in a few major cities, including Washington DC, San Francisco and LA. SF is also the beneficiary of eBay Now, the same-day delivery service that entered beta testing in early August. There isn’t an immediate expansion to accompany the end of the trial, but more cities should be added soon. If you’re not seeing the new design yet, look for the “Feeds” option on the home page to switch over now.
Filed under: Internet
eBay unveils redesign, deals site and launches same-day delivery originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 15:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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All the speculation about Amazon’s same-day shipping service may have been wishful thinking, but it seems like eBay is really going to give it a shot. The auction service has started sending invites to the beta of “eBay Now,” which provides just that. More »
Despite some very clever speculation in Slate recently about Amazon’s same-day delivery plans, that particular dream may go unfulfilled for most of us. At least, if Amazon CFO Tom Szkutak has anything to say about. More »
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