Since nobody else uses these....I'll give my impressions after looking at demo's of all.
Maybe this should be under Software, but since I'm looking at them mostly for options, this forum is probably just as appropriate.
<b>Tradespeed</b>
Looks like some of the best analytics around for a trading platform. The options platform was designed for market makers and has similar features to Microhedge. The theoretical prices are listed next to the actual on the option montage and you can fit the volty curve however you want, as well as manipulating any of the other inputs as you see fit. The options software was used separately by a option firm in the past, so it is somewhat tried and true.
One of my main concerns with Tradespeed is that the options part of it was just meshed with the equities platform, and I think that the futures are also somewhat separate. The futures part is not fully complete.....they are connected to cbot, but not yet to the cme, which they said has been ordered and they are just waiting on the line, but the programming is supposedly complete. I'm always a wee bit skeptical with timelines on things getting done in the software world.
<b>Wolverine</b>
This looks like a very solid platform that was built for their proprietary use. I don't have really anything to say negative about it other than they don't have much in the way of analytics. Wolverine keeps all their proprietary analytics software in-house for their use only. Software platform is mostly for options and equities, but you do get DOM for futs in a level II screen. Also, I think that there is an extra charge for trading equities, which isn't that big of a concern for me since I don't trade many stocks anyway.
<b>Liquid</b>
This platform is very intriguing to me. It is Think or Swim's institutional product. It looks like it is built with all the features that option traders could possibly ask for. Tons of analytics and also some built in charts. Easy spread order mgt and account allocation, which are two of the main features that I am looking for.
My main concern about Liquid is that it looks like a java based platform, which can be a drag on the cpu. The other set-back is that it is not yet compatible with my clearing firm, although it is supposedly in the works. Again, I can't help but be a little skeptical about how long it will take.
If anyone has any other input on these, please feel free to add insight.
Good Trading!