Financial Times iPad App

Access FT.com news, markets data and portfolios from your iPad.

The Financial Times iPad app is a free app that allows users to access FT.com content. While the app itself is free, you must subscribe to FT.com for unlimited access. With free registration, you are limited to only 10 articles a month. However, you can access your FT.com portfolio and you have unrestricted access to markets data and Financial Times video content. You can register either through the app at or FT.com.

When you download the app to your iPad, the first thing you will probably want to do is choose which edition you want to view. You can choose the United Kingdom, the United States, Europe, the Middle East or Asia Pacific.

Subscription Levels

Beyond free registration, there are two paid electronic subscription levels for the Financial Times, both of which—according to FT.com—provide unlimited mobile and iPad access. The standard subscription costs $4.99 per week and includes five years of company financials, while a premium subscription costs $7.49 a week and also includes the Financial Times’ Lex business and finance column, ePaper access and the “letter from the editor.”

Download Entire Edition

One nice feature of the FT.com iPad app is the ability to download the entire iPad edition for offline viewing. In roughly a minute, you can download the content for viewing without an Internet connection. Please note, however, that this does not include video content, which requires Internet access to view.

FT articles

The main focus of the Financial Times iPad app is to offer a browsable alternative to the printed and Internet versions of the Financial Times. The majority of the content available through the app is Financial Times articles. FT.com subscribers have unlimited access to all the articles available. Non-subscribers who register with FT.com can read 10 articles a month. You can also share articles through the app via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter.

Markets Data

The Markets Data area of the Financial Times app gives you access to interactive, global and regional “macromaps” where you can see global index data, market gainers and losers, currencies, commodities and bonds.

Stock Performance Summaries

One drawback to the Financial Times iPad app is the inability to access specific company summaries. You can enter companies into a watchlist, which you can access from within the app. Likewise, you can access company data by selecting from those listed on the Markets Data page or from within news stories. However, unlike most financial websites, I did not find a place where you could search for specific tickers or company names. I hope this functionality will be added in a future version of the app.

Financial Times iPad App

The summaries that are available offer a nice snapshot of a company, including an interactive price chart, daily trading statistics, the latest news, a company description, a consensus analyst recommendation, a 12-month price target, and annual and quarterly trends in earnings and revenues.

Video Content

When you have access to an Internet connection, you can view a variety of Financial Times video content, all of which is free for registered users. Video content is broken down into a number of segments, including world; Europe; (Washington), DC; companies; Lex column; and markets. The quality is extremely good and it is arguably some of the best streaming content I have viewed on the iPad. Equally surprising is the sound quality, even from the iPad’s built-in speaker.

Overall

The Financial Times iPad app is a well-put-together utility. For those with an iPad and a subscription to FT.com, this is a natural extension of your subscription. Even without a subscription, the app gives you access to up to 10 articles a month as well as the in-depth market data and video content.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/financial-times-ipad-edition/id370723705?mt=8