MarketWatch Launches iPhone App

MarketWatch.com today announced its MarketWatch App is available for iPhone and iPod touch from the App Store. The app features real-time headlines and news bulletins, real-time data, audio and social media features to serve MarketWatch's core audience of engaged investors.

"The hallmark of MarketWatch is the ability to provide a very engaged and active audience with crucial, real-time news and analysis needed to make important investing decisions on a daily basis, and this new app means that service will now be available to them anytime, anywhere via the iPhone," said David Callaway, editor-in-chief of MarketWatch.

The MarketWatch App showcases the most important and breaking stories of the day selected by the site's editors and provides MarketWatch's signature real-time headlines and news bulletins as news breaks, just as the Web site does. Top Stories provides the day's most important stories, while Latest News offers real-time news bulletins and commentary throughout the day. Markets features global market news, real-time quotes and markets analysis and insight, and Tech features breaking news on technology stocks and analysis of trends and corporate tech news.

In addition, the app offers an extensive Market Data features set, including:

* Quote look-up by name or symbol;
* Customizable Watch List for tracking market instruments;
* Markets map showing trading status of major exchanges;
* Ticker index showing latest levels of major U.S. indexes;
* Market data thumbnail charts on quote pages with full-size charts
accessible from quote pages;
* Quote data for companies mentioned in an article will be listed at
the bottom of the article for one-click access to data.

A new text-to-speech tool for the Top Stories section -- powered by ReadSpeaker -- allows users to listen to consecutive articles or podcasts in a loop, delivering "cruise control' functionality for news consumption.

The MarketWatch App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/

MarketWatch has also debuted new advertising opportunities on the app, including pre-roll audio ads for the text-to-speech feature and new ad units on the podcast summary and audio filepages. Lexus is the exclusive launch sponsor of the MarketWatch iPhone app. The app will feature the automaker's new 2010 LS line mobile ads.

The MarketWatch App follows a significant redesign of the Web site in May, including new design and navigation, expanded content and features and a focus on the site's leading personalities and columns.