There’s more than a handful out there for sure, but here is a list of 5 very nice (and free) apps that are certainly worth checking out. (Know of another good one? Comment below!)

1. iSwim
Built by thinkorswim, iSwim is a full featured stock trading platform, straight on your iPhone or iPod Touch. It allows to trade stocks, options, futures, and even features some metrics to help analyze risk and performance.

2. Bloomberg
The Bloomberg app is packed with news from around the world, headlines, quotes, charts and tools to analyze the markets and customize the information according to your needs.

3. iTrade
iTrade is a stock trading simulator. A perfect way to gain experience without having to sacrifice money! With up to date quotes, news, and a community of users, iTrade is a very realistic simulation, perfect for beginners and anyone wishing to test stock trading strategies.

4. Yahoo! stocks
Yahoo!’s stock application ships by default with the iPhone. It’s an intuitive, simple and easy to use app to check up quotes and updates on stocks.

5. DailyFinance
DailyFinance (from AOL) provides real time stock quotes, stock market news as well as a handy way to manage multiple stock portfolios. Very nice app for general purposes.

That’s it! Most stock brokers are also coming up with great apps, such as the ones from eTrade (Etrade Mobile Pro), Bank of America (Bank of America Mobile), TD Ameritrade (iStockManager) and Chase (Chase Mobile). If you’re a client of those, check their apps as well, they are worth it.

1) Know the basics!
If you ever practiced sports to a competitive level, you know that mastering the basics is the key to victory. The same goes with trading stocks. Knowing the investor’s language and basic principles are fundamental: the lingo, acronyms, charts, tables, reports, economics etc.

Whether you wish to follow a trusted source’s strategy or come up with your own, the outcome will likely be determined by how well you are able to filter the information that comes your way. Knowing the basics can help a great deal in spotting flags and opportunities – and also help you turn flags into opportunities!

2) Find the online stock broker that’s right for you
There’s a good deal of brokers out there and there is certainly one suited for you needs. A good analysis of their fees and commissions, allowed investments, trading tools and resources can be very helpful in making the good decision. Shop for yours: read reviews, forums and blogs to find the best match.

3) Invest on knowledge first
Information travels fast and transactions are done even faster. Having access to the right information at the right time ultimately has a big impact on your trading strategy.

Staying updated with the latest news and information online, reading the relevant reports, following seminars and webinars, subscribing to the right newsletters and specialized magazines – all are great tools that can offer great r.o.i. in the long run.

4) Practice self-control, patience and discipline
Everybody makes mistakes. Improve your odds by getting into online stock trading gradually. Consider trying out a stock simulator before making the big jump. Practice makes perfect!

Find your investing strategy and stick to it. Hold on to good titles and get rid of the ones that don’t perform as well as you thought they would. When a stock doesn’t perform, find the strength to accept it and cut your losses. On the opposite, when your stock goes on an uptrend, be patient before selling and it will likely pay off.

Also, consider joining communities of online traders like yourself. When in doubt, share your thoughts and explore opportunities.

Step 1: Learn, learn, learn!
Okay, that one is obvious, but yes, you should learn as much as you can about economics, stock markets and everything in between. It is mandatory!

Step 2: Determine you stock trading profile
Now that you’re certain that online stock trading is right for you, find out what kind of investor you are. How much risk can you tolerate? Would you prefer lower performance in exchange for more steady income, such as periodic dividends? Do you wish to make certain ethical/personal choices when trading stocks? Make sure you have the knowledge and resources necessary to reach the objectives required by your chosen profile.

Step 3: Find your stock trading system, your rules
What kind of stocks will you be buying? When will you buy and sell them? Most important, why? Find out as much as you can about what is typical of your trading profile, and make yourself some reasonable rules that work with it. Try your system out in a stock simulator, such as Investopedia’s.

Step 4: Shop for your broker
Finding the right broker is a big step. It will determine the quality of the services, resources and advices you will have access to once you start trading stocks online. Some online brokers will offer completely raw trading services, with absolutely no advice and little customer service. This comes down to far cheaper than full-service brokerage but if you feel that you need some advice, shop accordingly. Also, while most brokers can take care of currency conversions and deal with a wide array of stock exchanges, make sure yours can do this as well (if there are particular stocks you wish to trade, ask them if they have access to that market – and what are the fees). Don’t hesitate to try out their customer service to gauge their reaction time, and if they have a free trial offer, why not try it out first?

Step 5: Contact your broker for your application
Be aware that there will likely be a delay before your trading account is operational. You will have a few forms and documents to fill out, online and offline, and perhaps have to send a deposit. Follow the broker’s instructions.

Step 6: Select your stocks and start trading!
In determining your trading profile and strategy, you pretty much narrowed that field down quite a bit. From there, you must now find the key pieces of information that are relevant to you and stay updated continuously. A few obvious choices, for most stock traders:

• The Wall Street Journal: a fantastic birthday gift to ask. Or try their free online edition.
• MarketWatch: the Wall Street Journal’s little brother can be found online, for free.
• The Motley Fool: The Motley Fool is famous for its newsletters and stock picks, and also has up to date market coverage as well as an active online stock trading community.

The list could go on and on… The web is filled with information, it will be up to you to filter the sources that are right for your strategy!

Step 7: Stay disciplined?
Alright, you knew that one, but it’s true! Follow your game plan and stay focused. Don’t make decisions based on emotions. Be patient. If you have a few thousand dollars in your account, it will be hard to not invest them right away, but remember that timing is critical. The real profit is not made when you sell, it is made when you buy.