FIRM: E*TRADE
CEO: Steven J. Frieberg
NEW DEVICE: Mobile Pro for iPad
SMALLER AND LARGER: E*TRADE says the device is like a smaller notebook, or four iPhones
Everyone agrees that the iPhone changed everything when it comes to mobile banking and payments. The question of the quarter is whether the iPad will have the same effect, and whether there's first-mover value to be mined by the institutions that release banking and trading applications for the device. E*TRADE became the first retail online brokers to test the water, releasing Mobile Pro for iPad as a free app when the iPad was launched in April.
The mobile Pro for iPad app has most of the same features found in notebook or desktop brokerage applications-the ability to view quotes, portfolios and balances, trade, watch video and view all trading and banking history. The difference is the iPad at a touch more than a pound and a half is easier to take with you than a 4.6 pound notebook or a 2.4 pound netbook. And it is much bigger than a smart phone.
"You're really taking what you do on a notebook and bringing it to a smaller type device," says Paul Vienick, E*TRADE svp of product development. "We've created a cockpit-like experience where you can see a lot of the dials and gauges. When you have the display real estate of the iPad running four or five windows, [it's like] having four iPhones running at the same time."
E*TRADE's Mobile Pro trading and banking app also runs on the iPhone and Blackberry smart phones. Vienick says E*TRADE is also considering putting Mobile Pro on Android operating system-based smart phones, which are becoming in increasingly popular.
While maintaining a consistent look and feel, Mobile Pro for iPad is by no means a knock-off of the smart phone version. "Certainly they have been good with a consistency of brand and look. Mobile Pro for iPad has a more complete dashboard, which is well-laid out and consistent with log-in online and with the iPhone," says Forrester Research vp Julie Ask. "But you can have four panels open instead of one on the iPhone,"
E*Trade is among the first to come out with a native trading and banking online app for the iPad. With E*TRADE's customer base thick with tech savvy early adopters, that's essential, according to Ask.
Apple said on May 3 that after just 28 days of availability, a million iPads had been sold and many stores in the U.S. are sold out. And the company doesn't even start selling iPads in Europe, Canada and Asia until May 28th. Some iPad sales projections are as high as 10 million this year. While no one can question the fabulous start of the iPad, it's unclear at this early stage exactly what category of device it is. Debate rages on tech blogs whether the iPad will kill off netbooks, which were the hottest mobile devices a year ago. Or even desktops.
"It's still early and we don't know what makes a great iPad application," says Ask. "Maybe the iPad is a new category of media player."
