Tag Archives: Mobile

Orion Advisor Services Launches App For Mobile Platforms

Posted on January 3, 2011 by in Technology

In a continuation of 2010’s trend towards mobile device adoption, Orion Advisor Services, LLC of Omaha, Neb. announced today that it released applications for the Android and Apple iOS platforms.

Click here to view the press release on PRNewswire.

Both advisers and their clients can download the app to their mobile device of choice, and Orion creates a custom label for the app to match the branding of their advisory firm. That ‘s a nice touch, especially for clients who may not be aware (or care) that their adviser’s portfolio reporting services are completed using Orion.

Check FPPad.com for more info on Orion’s app in the near future as we get our hands on it and test it on the iPad.

Video: Technology Trends Affecting Financial Advisors

Posted on November 23, 2010 by in Technology

Bill speaks to Investius in a Financial Thought Leaders report on current technology trends and how they affect financial advisors. Be sure to visit Investius.com for other excellent reports in the Financial Thought Leaders series.

[Note: video below is Flash. Click here to view the Quicktime version for iOS devices at Investius.com]

iPad Users Have More 3G Wireless Options

Posted on October 20, 2010 by in Technology

After a slow start, financial advisers and wealth managers are quickly warming up to Apple’s iPad (see our coverage on the iPad for financial advisors and wealth managers). Now that the product has been available for sale for six months, advisers have seen and experienced the unique interface the tablet device offers.

Because of its tablet form factor, the iPad is proving to be a powerful mobile device. It can be used while standing up, walking, or seated in a comfortable chair (and in an airplane seat, too, but those are far from comfortable), things that users of laptops and netbook computers find more difficult to do.

Since June, Apple has been selling a 3G wireless version of the iPad, but AT&T has been the exclusive service carrier for the device. That doesn’t excite many advisers due to AT&T’s reputation for spotty network reliability along with a monthly data plan requirement. In addition, iPad’s 3G wireless connection cannot be shared with any other mobile devices or netbook computers (without violating Apple’s terms of use, a.k.a. jailbreaking).

New 3G Wireless Options

Coming later this month, iPad owners will have a new option to use their device with the 3G wireless network. Verizon Wireless will start selling iPads on October 28 bundled with a MiFi 2200 mobile Wi-Fi hotspot device. Pricing for Verizon’s iPad/MiFi bundle is the iPad retail price (starting at $499) with an additional cost of $130 for the MiFi device.

A big advantage to Verizon’s offering is that there is no monthly commitment required for 3G wireless access. Data plans are offered in the pay-as-you-go format, priced according to the amount of data transfer desired.

Verizon’s data plans are $20 for 1GB, $35 for 3GB, or $50 for 5GB. All plans expire 30 days after activation.

Verizon is not the only provider to offer pay-as-you-go 3G data plans. Virgin Mobile also sells its own MiFi device for $149 and offers two data plans: $10 for 1GB (expires after 10 days), or $40 for unlimited data (expires after 30 days). I bought the Virgin Mobile MiFi 2200 device and will write about my experience with it in a future post.

So for advisers looking to adopt the iPad while avoiding getting locked in to a monthly wireless contract with AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Virgin Mobile both offer attractive alternatives to staying connected on the go and in control of data plan costs.

Virgin Mobile’s MiFi Goes Unlimited

Posted on September 1, 2010 by in Technology

Astute followers of my Twitter feed know that a few weeks ago I purchased the MiFi® 2200 mobile hotspot card from Virgin Mobile. (Alas, it’s still in the box waiting to be activated.)

When I bought the MiFi card, Virgin Mobile had four different price points for its data plans. Plans were along the lines of:

  • $10 for 100MB which expired in 10 days
  • $20 for 250MB, 30 day expiration
  • $40 for 600MB, 30 day expiration
  • $60 for 1GB, 30 day expiration

But as of August 26, Virgin Mobile cut two of its plans and now offers two simple options:

  • The same $10, 100MB, 10 day expiration
  • A new, $40 unlimited data plan with a 30 day expiration

The unlimited data plan is a huge deal. But don’t take my word for it. David Pogue, technology columnist for the New York Times provided his review of the MiFi device and its unlimited data plan.

Also, if you’d like feedback on the MiFi device from a practicing financial advisor, read this blog post from Curtis A. Smith, CFP® on Morningstar Advisor.

And yes, soon I will break the package open and activate my MiFi…

Pershing to Introduce NetX360™ for iPad™

Posted on June 11, 2010 by in Technology

Update: It’s Wednesday June 16 and still no NetX360 app for iPad in the App Store. According to this Investment Advisor article, advisors were shown a beta app of NetX360 on the iPad at last week’s Pershing Insite event.

According to a PRNewswire article, Pershing announced that it has introduced a version of NetX360™ that is compatible with the Apple® iPad™.

Click here to view BNY Mellon’s Pershing Unit Introduces NetX360™ for iPad™ from PRNewswire.

While Pershing may have introduced the iPad-compatible app, I cannot find the app in the App Store as of this writing. The iPhone-compatible app is available, but not the version enhanced for the iPad.

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