Apple's iPad leads mobile shift among financial pros as Bloomberg debuts new app

The Bloomberg Anywhere app for iPad saw a version update on Monday, bringing a completely revamped user interface tailored to subscriber feedback. Version 2.4 of the app also gives users access to Instant Bloomberg (IB), improved Charts and People sections, and Bloomberg Industries.

Discussing the app in a blog post, Bloomberg Anywhere Mobile chief John Waanders noted that mobile devices are becoming more and more the standard for how financial professionals that depend on Bloomberg are accessing their information. Apple's iPad, in particular, is growing in popularity among Bloomberg subscribers.

"We have seen — over the past three years — the number of subscribers accessing our platform on a mobile device double," Waanders wrote, "and more than half access the platform via multiple devices."

A bit over 10 percent of Bloomberg's global 313,000 global subscribers are using the company's iPad app, according to paidContent. Waanders says traders are coming to seek out the "lean back experience" associated with tablet use.

In the past, Bloomberg subscribers accessed the company's real-time information on hardware terminals known as Bloomberg boxes. Now, two-thirds of the firm's customers take advantage of the wider Bloomberg Anywhere service, which allows them to log in to the $20,000/year service through different devices with the help of a portable fingerprint reader.