Credit: Shutterstock photoLast week Zillow Inc. ( Z ) announced the launch of an app for iPad named Zillow Rentals. This app which was already on iPhone, is now specially designed for iPad and is also the first dedicated rental app of the company.
The app targets rental shoppers by offering a shopping experience optimized for iPad's Retina display. Shoppers can use Zillow Rentals to search via GPS by specifying a location on the map. As they search the map, the renters are able to compare favored photographs of homes and view details about potential rentals side by side using the app.
The features provided by this photo-driven app are search results organized according to their length of time on the market and whether the home has been viewed, besides the ability to search by pet policy. This will enable renters to modify their search according to their exigencies and instantly view and save important properties.
Zillow allows its database of above 6 million rental listings to Zillow Rentals on iPad. The app also has access to Rent Zestimates - the estimated rent prices of more than 100 million U.S. homes thereby helping renters to price negotiation.
The need for an optimum experience of bigger screen has led to a surge in demand for tablets and hence newer and improved apps in recent times. This accelerating demand also benefited Zillow which was able to successfully implement the mortgage and retail estate apps. The company was thereby able to come up with this iPad specific rental app. Currently, Zillow operates six apps for renters and rental professionals across multiple platforms.
The company initially launched Zillow Rentals in Oct 2012 with the responsibility for listing distribution across the Zillow Rental Network. The network included millions of shoppers on Zillow.com, Zillow Mobile, Yahoo Homes and HotPads. Zillow, which is expanding its rental business on mobile and Web, is expected to become the exclusive provider of all rental listings for HGTV's FrontDoor by the second quarter of this year.
We expect the launch of Zillow Rentals to improve the sales structure and expand the existing operations of the company thereby pushing up earnings.
Among others from the industry, Brightcove ( BCOV ), in Nov 2012, announced that by using the Brightcove App Cloud mobile app platform, TVNZ, New Zealand's national broadcaster, will launch a new TVNZ onDemand catch-up TV app for Apple iOS and Google Android devices.
Zillow currently carries Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Other online service providers like American Public Education Inc. ( APEI ) and Perion Network Ltd Ord ( PERI ) carry favorable Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) whereas Brightcove shares the same Zacks Rank as Zillow.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
