InPhonic Inc., a provider of wireless software and services to businesses, today unveiled a wireless service designed for eBay's global trading community of 46 million registered users.

The service, to be offered by InPhonic, will enable eBay users to receive alerts when they are outbid on an item and instantly rebid on it from a cell phone using two-way SMS technology. Prior to this, users could receive e-mail alerts -- via PC and/or wireless devices like mobile phones, pagers or wireless-enabled PDAs -- regarding auction progress, including outbid notices. But no technology existed to respond to such notices other than logging onto the eBay Web site in the normal manner.

The new service, called Wireless Rebidding for eBay, provided by InPhonic, uses InPhonic's patent-pending two-way SMS technology to allow real-time bidding from any mobile phone or other wireless device that is capable of sending and receiving simple text messages using a technology known as Short Message Service (SMS). Many of the phones being sold today by the major carriers support this technology, and the technology is compatible with the nation's six major wireless carriers.

The service also works with Internet-enabled cell phones that use the Wireless Application Protocol or WAP, though it does not require a WAP-enabled phone. There were more than 100 million cell phones capable of SMS messaging in use in the United States at the end of 2001, according to estimates by the Yankee Group.

Wireless Rebidding will allow eBay users unlimited wireless alerts and rebidding on eBay listings for a monthly fee of $2.99. The premium service will also include a range of other information services, including wireless broadcasts of news, weather, sports and other information.

The service, according to the companies, is extremely easy to use, allowing members to raise their bid on an item with a simple reply to an outbid alert message received on their phone. Users will be able to sign up for Wireless Rebidding service from a number of links within the eBay marketplace or they can visit www.rebid.com directly.

Nextel will promote the new service to over one million existing customers ultimately offering it to their base of over 9.2 million subscribers.

InPhonic, meantime, will promote the new service to eBay users throughout the on-line marketplace, which facilitated more than $11 billion in gross merchandise sales last year.

The InPhonic deal further extends eBay's hold in the messaging space. Last March, the online auctioning giant quietly launched an IM trial with AOL Time Warner's America Online, allowing AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) users to use the immensely popular service to get information about their accounts from eBay.

An eBay spokesman told sister site InternetNews.com that the new service uses interactive agent technology from New York City-based ActiveBuddy Inc. A spokesman there confirmed that the application has been licensed by eBay.

ActiveBuddy markets software and hosting solutions that let marketers, content providers, service providers and other enterprises deploy interactive agents that deliver a personalized information across all platforms that support interactive text messaging.

At the time, officials said the service was being tested only through AOL.

Matthew Peretz is the editor of three of internet.com's Wireless Channel Sites: M-CommerceTimes, allNetDevices and ThinkMobile. Bob Woods is the managing editor of InstantMessagingPlanet.