Bloomberg introduces Android app

Bloomberg L.P. released Thursday a new Android application that included news and stock home screen widgets. It’s free.

It is the first business and finance app for Android that allows users to read stories while off-line.

“Bloomberg uniquely harnesses technology to combine data, news and information into integrated tools that are relevant for our users,” said Oke Okaro, global head of Bloomberg Mobile, in a statement.  “We’ve made significant developments in creating rich, personalized experiences on mobile, and we’re working on some incredible applications that will leverage Bloomberg’s core strengths as a multimedia and technology company.”

Bloomberg’s apps include interactive charts that enable users to drill down on information that’s personally relevant for them. For example, starting with the 52-week stock chart that appears on the stock’s summary page, users can tap a stock chart to see it in full-screen mode — where they can also see details for the open, close, high, or low for a time period ranging from five years ago to the current day.

The app provides news related to particular stocks, and users can create personalized views of the news by industry, region, exclusivity or popularity.

Bloomberg also has an app for subscribers to the Bloomberg Anywhere service that enables them to tap into the tens of thousands of terminal functions on the go.