HSX Now! is the first known app for managing an HSX portfolio on a mobile device. In addition to the easy-to-use portfolio and trading tools, there is an integrated, dedicated HSX website browser, to provide ready access to the full range of HSX features. Also featured are intraday trade graphs for Moviestocks, provided by HSX user, theun4gven.
Note that this is an unofficial app; it is not provided or sanctioned by the Hollywood Stock Exchange, HSX.com. The app should run on all phones with Android 3.0 - Ice Cream Sandwich, or later (90% of the current Android market).
Option settings include portfolio sort, number of items shown, and HSX website homepage. The browser also helps you to save zoom settings that are most comfortable with your device. And, if you're red-green colorblind, there's a setting for you!
A few usage notes, particularly for big ports... With, say, 1400 movie stocks, it's kind of impractical to scroll that huge list. While you CAN opt to have all of them visible, the default is to show only 80 -- that's 40 stocks at the top, and 40 stocks at the bottom of the sort. The default sort (after your first reload) is on today's change in price, so, it's easy to flick to top and bottom, to monitor your port's biggest movers of the day.
What if you see news on a stock that you think you own, but is not shown in your port view, or is just too much trouble to find? If you know the ticker symbol, there's a Find/Trade function that will bring up your position in a holding, regardless of your settings, or currently selected security category. If you don't know the ticker, you would go to the HSX browser, and use the website's search function. Once on the security's page, you can trade either with the HSX website widget, or with the app's Find/Trade tool.
Known Issues
Having moved on from KitKat, I see that the activity spinner on the login screen does not show. Now I understand why some of the early users (then running Lollipop) said there was no activity indicator, and the program appeared dead when they were logging into large ports, or using slow data connections. I looked for a quick way to get the spinner working, but, it looks like I'd need to learn some new stuff, which I don't currently have time or inclination for. So, I'm living with it, as others will have to.
Also related to Android releases beyond KitKat, the Refresh and Find buttons are light, and difficult to see on the light action bar.
The HSX forum selector dropdown in the browser view sometimes causes problems -- either not dropping down, or crashing the app. This seems to occur relatively soon after starting the app. Some versions of Android have no such problem.
During the last few months of 2016, HSX had problems relating to session cookies, and logging users off after a short period of time. Coincident with this HSX problem, I discovered that a new install of HSX Now! would fail to execute trades; behavior was as if the user had not logged in. I found a workaround -- which needs to be executed only one time: after logging into the app, go into the HSX browser section, and log into the site through the normal login page. Then exit, and re-enter the app. Trading should be good to go. Of course, app users are subject to the same annoying log-off problems that regular users have been experiencing.
Installing HSX Now!
The app is not available in the Play store. Use the download-install link, below. BEFORE going to that link, you have to get into your Android settings, under security, and select that the phone can accept apps from unknown sources (or, something similar; this may vary by provider). Of course, you would uncheck that again after installing the app. Yes, this is a trust issue... You would not want to accept apps from someone that you did not trust. Well, I do have a reputation with Port Monkey.
The only system permission the app uses is Internet access. The only website access is to HSX, and to theun4gven graphs.
If you have kudos, bug reports or suggestions, please send me an email: umbzep@gmail.com. The app is free, but, I'd get some satisfaction from user feedback.
HSX Now! downloads and version history
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Copyright © 2016 by Eduardo Zepeda umbzep@gmail.com |