A popular iPhone app is now the property of eBay and about to get much better.  eBay announced this afternoon that it's acquired RedLaser, and the company best known for its auction site intends to make the app free, increase merchandise selection, and integrate it into other products.

RedLaser is actually free as of this moment - eBay made that transition immediately - so don't hesitate to act if you're interested in trying it out.  The app is meant to help consumers look up product information and compare prices online.

As for the tricks eBay will need a little more time to perform, the company promised in a statement that it will "significantly increase selection on RedLaser by integrating more than 200 million listings from eBay, as well as product inventory from over 7,000 global merchants on Shopping.com, including 95 of the top 100 online retailers."

Furthermore, "eBay plans to integrate RedLaser's barcode-scanning technology into its leading iPhone applications, including its eBay Marketplace, eBay Selling, StubHub and Shopping.com applications," and improving developer support is on the official "to do" list, as well.

One last interesting note: according to Richard Brewer-Hay, eBay's corporate blogger, Robert Scoble recently recommended in a private conversation that eBay acquire RedLaser.  So there's a vote of confidence.

Unfortunately, neither eBay's official announcement nor Brewer-Hay disclosed the terms of the deal.