Idea For HammerTap - Handheld Version

[JoshNJamie]

Hi Brian,

I think I have a good idea that would work great for hammetap!  How about an online version or a downloadable version designed for the blackberry user?  Where one could be at a trade show, see a product and then do instant research to see if it has potential?  I am familiar with the Hammertap PowerWeb version however I have nothing but trouble when I try to run that from my blackberry.  So much trouble that I have yet to actually be able to login and see how it works. If it could be programmed and formatted especially for the blackberry that would be extremly advantageous.  Do you see any future in this format? Thanks, Josh

[brian]

Hi Josh,

Thanks for the input.  Yes, we are definitely interested in creating a version of HammerTap that would work for handhelds such as the Blackberry.  We don't have a definitely timeline nailed down of when we will do this, but I definitely expect to develop it at some point.

How many others would be interested in something like this?  (The more interest we hear in it the sooner we will build it.)

Also, obviously the screen space would be very limited - what kind of information would you see as the most important to display?

Thanks,
Brian

[JoshNJamie]

I think the most important question that I need answered via my blackberry (and in general) would be "Will this item sell well on Ebay?"   How I go about finding that is by looking at certain numbers that HammerTap returns.  I would like to be able to type in product keywords in the product search and see the results. I don’t think one would find it necessary to be able to change the dates.  The standard last 30 days would be fine.  Also I don’t think you need to incorporate the category or seller search functionality either.  You can even change the way it looks from the desktop version to make it more user friendly and quicker to use on the run.  So for instance if you just had a screen on the blackberry with a title of Product Search and then two boxes labeled Include Keywords and Exclude Keywords.  Then the user inputs the keywords to search for.  Then the blackberry syncs with your database and brings back the results.  We really just need to see the data in the most user friendly way, the input method should be very basic. 

Now as far as showing the results I think the Findings and Summary tabs would be sufficient.  Now you could argue well how do you know if you are returning the proper listings? Maybe you have "lots" or other listings in there that would skew the data.  That is true so you could incorporate the listing tab so you can check or uncheck witch listings you want to eliminate.  However, that is where you have to be accurate in your initial keyword inclusion and exclusion.  Also keep in mind that by looking at this data on a phone doesn’t mean buy a crate of the product right then.  This means that you should note the product, model #, vendor, booth, etc so when you have more time you can run the full version to get complete results. Remember this is to be a mobile version and not a full desktop version so only the most vital and critical information needs to be displayed.  Also being a mobile version and transferring just the necessary data you will help to eliminate overhead in the transfer of the data to the blackberry.  If you have to wait 5 + minutes for the results, it would be useless.

The format that it's displayed in will have to be adjusted to incorporate the blackberry and other web enabled phones. You could start on the development of just the blackberry and see how that goes and work out from there.  We just need enough information to answer the question "Will this item sell well on Ebay?" For me that information can be found in the Findings and Summary tabs. Under the findings tab the most important info that I would like to see is everything under the Results, LSR, and ASP row. At this point I don’t need to know what day to start the auction or what time. I also don’t need to know what type of auction is best. What I do need to know is everything under the Results column, the Total Listing, Listings with Sale, ASP, LSR, etc...   

So in theory if I was at the Las Vegas conference and saw a product at a vendors table I could type in accurate keywords and within a couple minutes have all the data I need to make an initial decision on whether to further research the item or not. Thus answering the question "Will this item sell well on Ebay?" If not 100% answering the question at least enough to know if you should give the item more thought later.

Think you can whip that up in time for Las Vegas!    LOL!

[brian]

Josh - Thanks for the info on what you'd like to see.

As soon as I have a good idea of when we can get this done, I'll post it here.

[stevja1]

Josh - this is kind of what I got from your description of the search page. I'll try and mock up a results page as well.
The dimensions may not be completely accurate for your blackberry, but I wanted to basically come up with a mock up what what you were thinking of. (Also note that this is a little more image-rich than I'd like it to be. Considering you guys generally pay by the kb, we'll naturally want to make the total page size as small as possible.)



As far as data goes, I'm guessing we'd just be sending aggregate (processed) data to the mobile, so it should take seconds to download.

We'd basically need to charts on the results page - ASP and LSR. I think the rest of the page we could devote to filtering keywords.

I've wondered about something like this when I'm shopping at Circuit City or BestBuy because sometimes they have really nice sales, and I've been curious if they're actually beating the avg price on eBay or not. If so, I'd like to load up and try and sell the items there. (Sometimes they have rebates that make $50 dollar wireless routers cost $10 or so.)

[JoshNJamie]

Stevja - That looks GREAT! Thats exactly what I was talking about! Upon seeing it I even had another idea.  Maybe instead of having to type in the "exluded" keywords you could even put the most filtered words on the screen with a check box that would automatically exclude them.. for instance lot, lots, wholesale, etc...  That way you could even save time by just checking them and not having to type them all in. Just an idea....what do ya think?

I think that is a great start! Now just the results pages! I'm glad you responded! The more people we can get to look at this the better!  Once they start to see an interest in the Mobile format they will start the implementation process!

[librariansteph]

I just signed up for hammertap and this is one of the things I was looking for. I don't have a blackberry or hand held device now but would definitely get one if I could access the hammertap info on it. I go to local auctions and buy items to sell on ebay and I would have great use for a device that would show me if the item is worth bidding on, and for how much. I've missed plenty of good deals after going home and looking it up after the fact because you never know what you are going to run into at an auction!

[3dpsycho]

So is this available for mobile usage yet?... if it is is it only blackberries, or other phones as well?... which ones?... I am waiting on joining this service till it becomes available for mobile devices....

[Mike]

Yes, Hammertap will work with Mobile Devices.  We have not tested all the current Moble SmartPhones, but most that can do basic web browsing will work.  Currently we only have the PowerWeb version of the software will work with Mobiles.  We are working on updating that so that it is just as powerful as the desktop version.  Look here in the forums, will will announce it here once we have updated it