Does Anyone Use a Smartphone to Follow the Markets and the News...

[HighStakes 10]

Hello everyone,

 

I am considering buying a smartphone for the purpose of following the markets and the news during my daily job (lunch, commute, etc), so that I am not completely disoriented when I start to trade in the evening.

 

I`m not sure if this is a great idea or not, but I would be curious to hear your guys experiences.

 

Are there any decent applications that allows you to track the market in a meaningful way? What about browsing news?

 

I`m of course not thinking about using it for charting

 

The phone I`m considering is the HTC Desire. Looks nice

 

Thanks in advance,

 

HighStakes

[HighStakes 10]

Anyone?

 

I found some old threads here, but would like to hear people`s recent experience as well.

 

It seems like using a smart phone to stay informed can work really well. Not curious if it will give me an edge though, but it can save me some time probably.

 

I have not decided whether I will buy an iphone or an android though. The new iphone is close to twice as expensive as the HTC Desire, so if I go for an iphone it will have to be the old model I think.

[brownsfan019 17]

Do you use news, econ events, etc. in your trading?

 

If yes, then you probably want to keep up on that stuff while you are not near your computer.

 

If no, then it's a waste of money.

 

For example, I use econ releases as a reason to avoid being in a trade but that's it. So all I need to know is when the big releases are coming out, which is easy enough.

 

Now if I was basing my future trade decisions on these events, then I'd probably want to know what they were doing while I was away from my computer.

[HighStakes 10]

I`m a technical trader, but I don`t like to trade in ignorance of the big picture and recent news.

 

So, I won`t place any trades purely off the news and fundamentals, but they might affect how I trade and even prevent me from trading. Much like you say about not wanting to stay in a trade during news releases and such.

 

Many people say that smart phones give them increased freedom, but my view is the complete opposite. I see that most people are slaves to their phones and their desires, so I would actually rather avoid it.

[bathrobe 10]

I used the free bloomberg app for this purpose with my old blackberry when I had a blackberry and I have since switched to a droid x and the bloomberg app is also available for under $5, it comes in handy, I am not aware of what is available for the phone you mentioned.

 

the app came in very handy when I was out and there was a news release regarding the Greek debt crisis back in the spring.

[ramora 10]

I have an iphone and I use it to keep tack of the markets.

 

Some of the applications on my phone include:

 

1. Bloomberg best news and charts

2. Forex OTG not bad charts

3. MobileRss - I subscribe to several blogs and news feeds

4. Oanda FXTrade (emergency backup in case internet goes down)

5. Interactive Brokers TWS Mobile (emergency backup in case internet goes down)

6. Tweetie - I follow several traders who 'tweete' a lot some news tweets are good for breaking news. (I do not trade news but like to follow the news.)

 

I am also experimenting with Yahoo alerts and other services to receive price alerts.

 

Another pet project is to get mobile VNC up and running so I can see my trading desktop via remote desktop. Mixed results so far.

 

I am not always looking at my iphone, but if I am stuck somewhere waiting I can usually find something interesting going on.

 

Also considering a purchase of an iPad, but I think the iPhone is just fine with the above apps and it is always with me.

 

Good trading,

Edited August 3, 2010 by ramora

[jimbo320 10]

I wasnt a big apple fan but recently picked up an iphone 4. What a bit of kit. They are just superb. When ipad r2 comes out ill pick one of them up too.

 

I can concur that bloomberg and tws mobile are good apps. I also have reuters insider, cnbc real time, sky news, financial times, etc etc the list goes on.

 

I would says they are very good at news but not so hot on the charts.

 

Take the plunge you wont regret it.

 

One thing, check you get decent reception using a free sim card in your area before you sign up or 3g might not be so good (thats for data).

[HighStakes 10]

Thanks guys.

 

It sounds very promising. I kind of hate being on work for 8-9 hours and not knowing what`s going on in the markets.

 

Does anyone know if the same applications are available for Android phones as well?

 

I would have loved to buy the iphone 4, but I`m afraid it`s a little pricey right now.

 

Regards,

 

Highstakes

[TIKITRADER 10]

I have a Droid X. Keep TWS Mobile on it. Works nice. ( screen on droid x is great . . . no eye strain )

 

here is a link to the android market to get an idea of some of the apps available

 

Android.com - Market

[TIKITRADER 10]

Another pet project is to get mobile VNC up and running so I can see my trading desktop via remote desktop.

 

Good trading,

 

 

Just make sure you port forward to connect. There is plenty of info at portforward.com to help with this. Once connected you can easily access desktop remote from phone.

[TIKITRADER 10]

I did not have time when I posted last with a little help on port forward site if anyone is interested I will give a few easy steps to the site here.

 

 

Go to

 

PortForward.com - Port Forwarding Guides Listed by Manufacturer and Model

 

on the page that opens below will be a list of routers. see attchment

 

select the router you have from that list.

a new page will open with advertisements. in the upper right corner is a small " skip advertisement ". see attachment.

 

when that page opens after skipping advertisement a list of programs will open that you want to select the one to port forward.

 

step by step port forward instructions will open.

Many of you probably know how to do this already with your router. I posted this if it can help those who need it. Also you tube may have port forward instructions for the router you have.

. . .

 

 

Install a VNC of your choice on the computer . . . here is popular one

 

RealVNC - VNC® remote control software

 

and an app on the phone for VNC.

 

 

a nice vnc for droid phone that works very well is

 

Remote VNC w/Ad - Android app on AppBrain

 

 

Thats it. Access your desktop from your phone from anywhere... enjoy !

[ChartistLion 10]

HTCs are cool phones. What operating system are you going for - Windows 7 or Android? I've got a windows phone, it's nice and powerful but not very many apps are built for windows phones, it's quite disappointing actually. You always seem to get these e-brokers/trading platforms/charting software providers offering Android/Blackberry/i-Phone apps, very rarely would you find windows on the list. So make sure you do your research before you get a smartphone. With news however..wont be much trouble appwise.