Google Releases Finance App For Android

While watching the stock market over the last few months may not be the most pleasant thing, Google is giving Android users the ability to have quick mobile access to their portfolio information.

Aimed primarily at the day trader, the "Finance for Android" application enables users to keep updated with stock prices, market data, and news on a mobile phone. The application will also sync a portfolio with the Google Finance Web site so users won't have to create a separate account for the handset.

"If you are following the markets throughout the day, check out the real-time streaming quotes in your portfolio, fast stock look-ups with search auto-suggestion, and 'recent quotes' to make it even easier to receive quotes on the go," Google wrote on its mobile blog.

The application was made by Google engineers on their "20% time," the period of time where the search company lets employees work on projects outside the scope of their job functions. Users with the T-Mobile G1 can download the finance application for free now from the Android Market.

Google has not said if the application will come to other mobile platforms, but it likely will be expanded to Apple's iPhone 3G, Research In Motion's BlackBerry, and Microsoft's Windows Mobile in the next few months. Releasing the application for the Android platform first could signal a shift in the search giant's strategy for mobile applications.

Last November, some were surprised that Google released a well-received voice search application for the iPhone 3G before it came to the company's own mobile platform. Google wants as many users as possible on any mobile platform, but giving Android a limited exclusivity of apps could help spur adoption of the Linux-based operating system.

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