Clients can now choose from a range of apps that have been comprehensively tailored to run on iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Windows Phone 7, along with the increasingly popular iPad tablet computer. 

Tim Hughes, Managing Director of IG Index, commented: "The latest generation of smartphones has given us the opportunity to drastically improve our mobile spread betting software. This has been accompanied by a significant uplift in clients using their mobile handsets to deal on the move. Over the last year, we've seen a 300% increase in mobile dealing, with the majority of this coming from orders placed on the iPhone. We're confident that the bigger screen of the iPad and the accompanying improvements in functionality we have been able to deliver will make this application just as popular."

Spread betting with IG Index on the iPad offers users the ability to customise the app layout to show any combination of watch lists, order tickets and charts side-by-side. Non-clients can download the app free of charge for access to live market data, from the FTSE 100 price to currencies, commodities and more.

Tim Hughes had this to add: "The iPad release puts us in a position to offer clients a tailored app for each of the major mobile devices. The iPhone may be leading market share for us right now, but in the three months since we launched our Android app we've seen a significant number of downloads. We have also launched our Windows Phone 7 app this month. It's premature to suggest that dealing on a desktop computer has had its day, but clients are certainly eager to see what can be done using complementary platforms."

It is estimated that 3.62 million people currently own tablet computers in the UK, with Apple having a 73% share. Forecasts state that a further two million devices will be sold in the country during 2012.