Cooqy - A new look for eBay

Posted May 29, 2006

An entry on ProgrammableWeb caught my eye tonight. A new shopping mashup that utilizes the eBay API in a very unique and innovative way. The mashup is called Cooqy.

Cooqy is a really nice implementation of the eBay API using OpenLaszlo technology. OpenLaszlo, which currently only runs on Flash (for those non-flash users it will soon support DHTML). For developers…

“OpenLaszlo is an open source platform for creating zero-install web applications with the user interface capabilities of desktop client software.

OpenLaszlo programs are written in XML and JavaScript and transparently compiled to Flash and soon DHTML.”

Ryan Stewart has a very nice writeup that goes into more upfront, as well as, behind-the-scene details of Cooqy, and I would suggest reading his article (see a short introduction and link at the end of my entry). But I’d like to mention some of the features that I found to have added-value on top of the normal eBay site (important for a mashup to do).

Here is a quick summary of the Cooqy features:

  • Community features like individual product tagging and chat threads.
  • Each search opens up a new tab in the current page (similiar to a new tab in FireFox).
  • Four different product listing views are available to users: Photo Collage View, Gallery View, List View, Map View.
  • They claim it is faster than eBay. Seems to be pretty fast.
  • Save Searches

A feature I would suggest would be the ability to Drag-n-Drop items into a watch/wishlist.

I wonder if this will be featured at the upcoming eBay DevCon 2006?

Further Reading on ZDNet
Rich Internet Application Case Study: Making eBay Better with Flash and Open Laszlo by ZDNet’s Ryan Stewart — Cooqy is the kind of Rich Internet Application that is going to bring mainstream users. Using Flash written in Open Laszlo, it enhances the eBay experience while adding valuable features. It’s a fun way to buy and sell, and it’s a great example of a well done RIA.

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1 Comment so far

  1. Robert Yeager on June 1st, 2006

    Hi -

    Thanks for the positive feedback re: Cooqy! Value-add features are continually being built on an almost daily basis. A drag-and-drop watchlist as you suggested is in our product plan.

    Re: the claims of being faster, that comes from network traffic optimization. Here’s an example: a single item detail screen on eBay usually weighs in at over 100KB. For the same item detail, Cooqy only needs to send 2KB to the browser. This is most noticeable over dial-up. If you compare over broadband, the difference won’t be noticeable. Broadband negates the network traffic optimization, so that you are really comparing how quickly an HTML page renders vs. Flash.

    Sorry, we don’t have plans to attend eBay DevCon 2006 in Vegas.

    Thanks for taking notice of Cooqy!

    Robert Yeager
    Founder
    Cooqy
    Treat yourself to better eBay shopping

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