No they don't have charts - real soon now (I'll have to dig up a quote from 2005 that said as much...)
They are not cheap. As far as I know, they are more expensive than IB and Cybertrader as far as stocks are concerned.
I havent done any automated/API trading with IB to get real timed numbers for comparison but just based on the speed of IB's fills using TWS vs MB's fills using Navigator doing manual trading I would say no, MB is no faster then IB. I'm talking emini futures here.
I can't believe some of you guys just make assumptions -- don't bother to do any research. Want charts? You can get them through Quotetracker w/ MB at no cost. And realize too that not everybody needs, or wants charts to trade. And commissions are 0.005 after the first 500 shares. And if you're a position trader you can go commission plan C and do 5000 shares for $4.95. http://www.quotetracker.com/mbt.asp And both owners respond to questions --- Steve here on ET and Ross over on SI.
Well I looked up and down on their website, I never read anything about them not having charts. I didn't find out until I dl'd the demo, and was like..."ok, wheres the chart button?"...It's not a make or break thing...just kinda thought charts were basic. The only reason I'd switch is for the 5.00 commission plan. cm
Assumptions? It is a fact that they don't offer charts. Period. I didn't pass judgement about whether charts were a good idea, just noted that they have been promising them for a long time and still havent delivered. More importantly, MB doesn't offer any historical data to backfill charts. I use QT myself but I have an eSignal subscription for backfill. Frankly I dont want them to waste their time implementing charts in the navigator, I'm sure they will do a lousy job considering how few developers they have and as you pointed out there are plenty of 3rd-party solutions for charts. Historical quotes would be nice though. Not sure why you got your panties in such a bunch over the issue. The guy asked about charts and I told him the truth.
Their platfrom sucks IMO, I bet you make alot of mistakes is you day trade with IB platform. If you just invest or swing trade, its ok.