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In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind there are few.
- Shunryu Suzuki

First financial gaming app for iPhone

As some of you may know, I am very interested in how the advent of mobile computing (or as Gilder would say – teleputers) and in particular believe that the iPhone is the first device to really take us past the inflection point and has started to give us a good sense of what the future will look like.

Financial services and mobile computing are a match made in heaven, and the only thing that is surprising about the flurry of activity in this sector over the past 12-24 months is that it took so long. The fact that some of the earliest and most ambitious ventures in this area emerged in developing countries speaks volumes to the fundamental inertia and resistance to change and innovation in large corporations (in particular financial services firms and US/European telecom operators in this case.) People may laugh at the hysterical self-immolating attitude of the traditional media and entertainment industry, but well…you know – ‘glass houses’ and all that…

But things are starting to move. I wrote about BoA’s iPhone offering 18 months ago – the first banking app – and was impressed this week when I saw Nokia invest $70 million in Obopay. (Although I have to admit feeling a tinge of regret, as Obopay has been on our investment radar screen about a year or so now, but we just didn’t yet have the capital to pursue this (and other promising deals.) Like in most walks of life, many potential investors prefer the psychological safety of buying a big brand – whether directly (think of the billions pissed away buying banking stakes waaay too soon) or with the giant private equity or hedge fund groups; as the saying goes, “no one ever got fired for buying IBM’) Anyhow, I’m pleased to announce that one of the companies we have invested in, GnuTrade, has recently announced the first financial gaming app for the iPhone:GnuTrade Logo

The innovative web app, which is featured on the Apple website, gives iPhone users an instant view of how financial markets are performing, and lets them place simple bets on whether prices will rise or fall. The app complements gnuTrade’s acclaimed web-based trading platform (www.gnuTrade.com), using its signature graphics to show live market price action, but via a handy touch-screen device.

Why are we excited about this? Well it brings together three big things: increased consumer interest and awareness of financial markets, mobile computing and mobile/p2p gaming. And all of this in a simple-to-understand, easy-to-use, oh-so-not-wall-street/city kind of way. GnuTrade is definitely not your father’s Oldsmobile so to speak. It’s social. It’s fun. It’s about not looking down your nose at people who are interested but are intimidated by traditional banks and brokers and spread ‘trading’ firms. It’s about prizes and play money or real money (only if you live where this is allowed of course.) GnuTrade is a digitally native markets company: they were early on Facebook (become a fan here), they are the UK’s most prolific twitterer (62,000 updates! follow them @gnutrade), and they have a pretty neat set of widgets if you are interested in adding some markets info to your blog or website – basically they ‘get it.’

Now the iPhone app is definitely not perfect. First of all it is a web app (runs in Safari) as Apple does not (yet?) allow ‘betting’ applications in the AppStore (to get the app for free on your iPhone, simply enter http://iphone.gnutrade.com on your iPhone’s Safari browser, and add the app to your homescreen.) Secondly, it’s beta so it has bugs (feedback and constructive criticism welcomed – send to @gnutrade for example) and thirdly – unless you have a blisteringly fast 3G connection – I would stick to wifi only for now.

They also have a very cool and fun beta application called NewsPools (similar to HubDub for example) that I for one would love to see on the iPhone (are you listening Lieven? ;) )Newspools snapshot And while you are at it, let’s see a market on when (what year say) the US will wake up and legalize, regulate and tax online gambling!

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Permalink||Comments|Filed under 'Digital Generation, Event, Financial Services, Mobile X.0, markets'
  • GnuTrade is definitely not your father’s Oldsmobile so to speak. It’s social. It’s fun... Trading can be fun if you get some good education and become successful, as for gnu they're quite good.
  • Chuck Farley
    Extremely cool iPhone app, well done! Though I have to wonder about a potential marketing backlash from appropriating the open source -y "gnu" reference for a service that is all about financial hedging and speculation...

    Your market for online gambling already exists on InTrade. The ticker is "UIGEA.AMENDED.DEC10".
  • Thanks for the pointer to the InTrade market. Currently offered at 40, seems a bit low but then again given the byzantine nature of the US legislative process and the (sometimes hysterical, almost always illogical) feelings around this issue stateside, perhaps not...

    Re the GNU reference - not sure how many people (or more importantly prospective customers will get this and/or care); and although GnuTrade is obviously not opensource, the ethos and spirit behind it is very much one of de-mystifying financial markets and encouraging anyone to get involved, for fun or for profit. If you use the casino analogy (something I have no problem doing, and at the risk of being provocative think those that avoid this are at best guilty of playing with semantics and at worst hypocrites), whereas most trading platforms are only friendly to "pros/experienced amateurs" like the high stakes poker tables, GnuTrade is there for the vast majority of people who just want to have a bit of fun, which the chance of making a bit of money if they get lucky, like playing the slots or low stake blackjack on a weekend away in Las Vegas. It's a bit of a stretch but in this sense - of openness and inclusion - it shares some of the same spirit as the GNU license. (I said it was a stretch!) ;)
  • It is kind of cool Sean, although I cdn't work out whether I could actually make money on Gnutrade. I mean is it a spread-betting house or a ply house?

    The Thinkorswim iPhone app is very very cool.
  • It's both: you can start with play money - you don't even need to register, or you can deposit real money (if your jurisdiction permits this); if you do this you will have two wallets - one play money and one real - so you have the best of both worlds.

    Will check out thinkorswim thanks.
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