US brokerage TD Waterhouse has become the first online financial services firm to launch a Web site designed specifically for the Microsoft Pocket PC platform.
The TD Waterhouse Wireless for Pocket PC service is specially formatted to fit on smaller handheld screens, and is optimised for wireless networks, says the company. It was developed and deployed by the firm's internal information services and e-commerce organisation in collaboration with Aether Systems and New York-based e-business consultancy Plural.
The public site is available to all Pocket PC users with Internet access and features unlimited delayed quotes and quote lists; market news and updates; charts and company-specific news; fundamentals; and symbol lookup. TD Waterhouse customers in the US can use the site to place stock, mutual fund and option orders, as well as access account balances, holdings, history, order status, unlimited real-time quotes, option chains and research.
"Making it easy for customers to manage their investments is our goal, and that's why we focused on Microsoft's cutting-edge Pocket PC platform. It offers a mobile experience that is similar to investing via a desktop computer because the platform uses Pocket Internet Explorer, a special version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer that brings advanced Web capabilities to these devices," explains Stuart Rubinstein, senior vice president at TD Waterhouse.
The firm has also announced an alliance with Aether Systems to create an online marketplace for TD Waterhouse customers to purchase a Pocket PC device, related hardware and wireless Internet access and e-mail.
The company says it will offer wireless investing solutions for the Palm and RIM Blackberry platforms later this year.