E-Trade, a U.S. brokerage firm, now provides a mobile application for cash transfers and real-time stock quotes, available on BlackBerry (News - Alert) devices.

 

Called E-Trade Mobile Pro, this free application allows the company's account holders to trade stocks and options, set up portfolio watch lists, view orders and detailed balances as well as check account holdings, Associated Press reported. The company indicated that the application also issues alerts, presents market summaries, and displays financial news.

 

The software will be available as a free download on E-Trade's Web site starting today, AP reported.  Although officially in "beta" or trial mode until the end of June, all features are fully functional according to E-Trade spokeswoman Pam Erickson. She was quoted in the AP report as saying that the application was designed specifically for BlackBerry users because of the device's popularity with the brokerage firm's clients.

 

The application will be password-protected. If the account is left inactive for over five minutes, it will prompt the user to re-enter the password. Despite this security measure, if unauthorised persons pick up a mislaid BlackBerry and execute trades on it, E-Trade will cover the losses under its fraud guarantee, Erickson said in AP’s report.

 

Although high-end phone users have been able to access E-Trade's Web site and those of most banks and brokerages for sometime now, E- Trade officials said online trading through the application will be much easier than using the Web site through a phone.

 

The company stated in the AP report that the application may not work with older versions of the BlackBerry but will work with all current models, that is those with model numbers starting with "8".