eBay's Android app has left a little to be desired, especially considering that their mobile web app is pretty serviceable in and of itself. Today's update brings a slightly refreshed user interface, a few bells and whistles in the alert system, and a desperately needed revamp of the checkout process. Phones and tablets running Android 2.1 or later can download the app, but don't expect the UI to scale.

The Reminders function is probably the most useful to hard-core eBay users, or at least, those hardcore users who don't already have email alerts set up. The new version allows you to set custom ringtones for buying and selling, as well as new matches for your saved search results. The payment update brings you to a credit card or PayPal payment much faster, though unfortunately it doesn't play nice with the official PayPal app.

All in all, it's just barely more useful than opening up Chrome, and appreciably faster. I still think eBay needs to take a hint from Amazon and release a separate tablet app.