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I further explain why I wanted it on my response post to you as well. We might have different opinions about what trading means, and also ... Anything other than buy/sell calls/puts is "complex" ... And having excel type app to me is basic functionality. the whole purpose for me was to determine if the iPad was up to the job, hence why I detailed the requirements and my process to go about it. It might help others who might consider doing the same and not wasting their time if their requirements match what I outlined; Or it might not help anyone, not doing it for others at the end of the day.
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
thus far I would agree given my experience, but not done yet... I want to see if I can address some of other requirements still. Also, I looked at the EP121 and was tempted to order it yesterday, but what has me conflicted with that specific device is it's price... I can get an x220t for a little more and that means when get home I could even run two monitors with a docking station, etc... So the lenovo notebook is more appealing due to cost and features when compared. Since I am in no rush, I plan to continue with the evaluation and see where it takes me.
I thought you said in an earlier post cost wasnt an issue. Besides the price difference between an iPad and the eee Slate after you add all the apps and extras an iPad requires is probably 1-3 trades (and/or slippage) at best.
You could always order it from Amazon and send it back after playing with for a couple of weeks if it doesnt fit your needs. Alternnately you could wait for the Dell Peju tablet thats due out in October.
First, my technology budget is set by me at the beginning of the year, I don't change it once set. Second, I don't look at those operating expenses in terms of how many trades to recover the investment, my operating costs are separate from my trading as they are paid from a different revenue stream. I am a strong believer in fiscal discipline, and i run my own life as if it was a business.
Oh, btw... So far the iPad is all free ... based on my analysis... I could dedicate $50 to apps and it will still be lower than the EP121...
Cost is not an issue, but value is.... EP121 ~1200 .... x220t ~1300 ... One provides me with greater functionality or features for my money (aka value) ... while the other lags behind. Anyhow, I have patience ... I can wait until 12/29/2011 the latest
I missed all the morning action since I was on my way to Disney with the kids... I decided last minute to take a trip since I have not been paying much attention to the kids... perfect time to use the iPAD to test more functoinality...
I have been thinking similar to you and I think that a tablet would be an excellent addition to a trading arsenal for those with full time jobs. However, while I believe it is a great idea to trade on a tablet I am still hesitant in translating the entire trading experience to the mobile devices. I think a good analogy for trading on mobile apps is having the ability to take important conference call while on vacation: it is great to have access to information you would have normally missed, but the environment is not ideal if the situation is to occur repeatedly. There are so many more negative variables that present themselves such as reception issues, dropping your phone in the beach, sleeping through the conference call because you are on vacation, someone stealing your phone on the resort, etc.
As a commuter, I can definitely understand the desire to use the time more efficiently, but you also want to be trading efficiently as well. I often read trading texts on the train ride home, but I can easily recognize how my efforts and thought process never reach the optimal levels they normally do when I am at home in a quiet room. On the train, I started forcing myself to take notes, but often someone catches my eye on the train, or I end up thinking about the day that is just beginning/ending and constantly rereading the same sentence over and over. The other problem with researching/reading in such a distracting environment is that I read but the ideas don't stick. Often, ideas are in one ear and out the other and my critical thought process goes out the window.
I am unsure how you will be using your tablet in the grand scheme of things, but personally I will do as much DD and strategizing in a controlled environment that is conducive to sound thinking. When I do purchase a tablet and use a tablet trading platform, I would be using it primarily for trade execution and managing current positions. I aim to set stops around key support/resistance beforehand through the desktop software, and then pull out my tablet when I receive the alert intraday (via an email to my phone) and check the markets/indicators to ensure that everything looks in order. If things line up, I would execute my trade through the tablet, and go back to my regular 9-5.
here is how I found that I can ignore people when researching on the train... I have a Bose QuietConfort headset that is noise cancelling... I dont use it on the subway.. only on the metronorth back home.. I put on music as background noise to the research I am doing, or else I listen to BLP news radio at the same time I read... I personally need background noise, or else my mind wonders.. side effect of multitasking IMO... I dont make decisions while researching though, I am just taking notes and jotting down what I need to evaluate later on...
the other day I noticed a guy on the train that basically just had industrial strenght ear plugs... pretty straight forward... and it is pretty clear that he just wants quiet time..
it might seem antisocial, but in the train around 6-7AM EST... do you really want to talk to anyone? or in the way back after a long day, do I really want to talk to anyone? usually everyone in the train just keeps to oneself unless they know each other... I personally avoid the times I know some of my friends take the train for that reason, it would steal time from reading stuff that I want to go over...
I have to admit the iPAD is a simple tool to use... for kicks while I was at DIS I downloaded some apps for the kids in the hotel and I let them play with it for a while... the 2 yo picked up the use of it in no time, took him a few hours to get used to it... and the 5 yo basically had it down in about 30 minutes..
so if you have kids.. the iPAD is a perfect educational tool IMO.. much better than giving them netbooks with keyboards (specially if you have kids less than 5 yo)..
I am pretty much done with evaluating the iPAD for active trading.. and my researched yielded the iPAD is not quite ready from an application support perspective for trading actively.
What is the iPAD ready for? simple.. Swing trading.. no matter what instrument.. equities, forex, commodities, derivatives, etc...
As long as one is keeping track of positions and not scalping intraday, but rather swing trading over multiple days or something similar, one can trade with the iPAD without issues.
The applications available for swing and forex trader are quite capable.. applications such as:
They all provide with some basic and some advanced functionality, though all are lacking at times.. but it comes down to what you are looking for and what you are trading. Trading on the move will prove difficult, WAN access is not always reliable, and as such a hyper trader or even an intraday trader should be careful when trading. The device is best suited to those trading with a bigger timeframe in mind.. 30 mins bar, hour bars, etc... it really lends itself to trading FX quite well.
The iPAD is a great research tool, as long as you are willing to invest on a few applications, that is definitely a plus. The portability and battery life, at least on the iPAD Gen 1, are pretty good.
I did liked the idea of trading on such a light device... I will certainly look at the new Lenovo ePAD when it comes out with Windows.. I would be curious to see what impact having the right applications for trading on a tablet will do.. in the mean time, I am just getting another iPAD Gen 1.. and giving it to the kids.. the devices are great educational tools for toddlers.. my 2 year old picked up its use in no time and was able to put puzzles together with it.. much better than banging away at a keyboard and removing keys because he scratches the keyboard... for the 5 year old it was just like using her ipod touch, so it was no surprise that she had the device use down within a few minutes.
anyhow, I hope you found the journal of value and feel free to ask questions if there is anything you want to know about the apps that I tried out.