After 2 years, 3 months, and 21 days of faithful service, the very first iPhone I have ever bought/owned has bit the dust. To be specific, the lower third of its touchscreen died…but since that part contains the “Slide to Unlock” zone, the whole device has been crippled.
Mind you, I had moved on the 3GS earlier this year and the original became a hand-me-down to the wife to be used as a glorified iPod Touch. She found it highly useful as a day-planner (with iCal and then, just recently, 2Do), portable gaming device, and occasional mp3 player. In fact, after the initial skepticism, she has become so dependent on it that now she’s balking at the idea of going back to her previously standard Franklin-Covey planner.
While the pressing question of what to do now (buy a “real” iPod Touch ($100+)? upgrade her RAZR to an actual iPhone ($50+data plan)? wait until new iPhone comes out this summer?) is occupying her, feelings of slight dissatisfaction are growing in me.
I mean, seriously…I am really expected to be satisfied with a useful life of a little over 2 years for a device that cost several hundred dollars?? My 10-year-old Siemens and LG phones still work like a charm, and I’d assume my beloved Sony-Ericsson is still a loyal servant to the hoodlum who stole it from its rightful owner in Portland, OR (damn hippies!). The more I think about it, the more unacceptable this is. And yeah, it could be repaired…at the cost of a brand new iPod Touch of iPhone 3GS. Thanks, but no thanks.
Sour grapes? Maybe. Perhaps more so if I was the one still using it. Regardless, I’m shorting AAPL, out of spite, via puts @ 208.72 (if it gets there; a penny below yesterday’s low). Will this add insult to injury? Stay tuned!
And since we’re on AAPL…this is as good a time as any to start putting on some longer options plays in honor of the new year. Say…20% move in 200 days (Jul’10 220./200. calls)?
You might think that putting a strangle on at the end of such a monster move as AAPL has had these last few month may not be the best idea…and you might be right as consolidation in a specific range could very well occur. But, first and foremost, a long strangle/straddle is a volatility play…and AAPL‘s IV% has been stuck in the low 30’s for quite some time, while historically it likes to be up closer to 50.
And with increased competition from MOT and GOOG, Apple cannot just rest on its laurels. Perhaps the iTablet will become a reality and a big hit. Or perhaps Steve Jobs will have another medical emergency. Regardless, a 20% move, either way (in the first half of the year), is easy to envision.
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PORTFOLIO UPDATE:
WEDNESDAY’S PICKS – more puts:
- puts: AAPL (@208.72; as mentioned above), ACI (@22.88), AMGN (@56.89), APA (@104.), CAM (@41.41), CHK (@26.26), CREE (@54.50), NUE (@45.50), PCX (@15.50), SBUX (@23.35), TBT (@49.94), X (@54.)
- calls: BX (@13.50), FLS (@97.97), GS (@166.), SRS (@7.25), WYNN (@60.31)
- and the AAPL long-term long strangle
If you really want to short apple with conviction, switch to Droid phones. I got to play with my friends Motorola Droid and I must say it kicks ass. I must have a tactile keypad and will stick with my current blackberry until I switch to a droid.
Being a loyal iTunes and iPod user I could never short aapl, but I am definitely rooting for droid to kick the iPhone down an unmarked manhole. And screw AT&T and their stupid luke wilson commercials.
The keyboard is actually what turns me off from the Droid. And the lack of a proper, built-in music app.
Well that, and Verizon. I must be the only person in America who hasn’t had any major complaints about AT&T. Been with them since ’01, back when they were still Cingular. All my friends in college had Verizon and I heard nothing but curses about them, while my Cingular service was just fine. Granted, I don’t live in the ultra-congestion zone of NYC or SF, but when I’ve visited the latter I’ve always had excellent service. Perhaps I’m just lucky. Plus, the entire clan (both sets of parents included) is on a “family plan” that is discounted through work…so there’s absolutely no need for me to switch.
The Luke Wilson commercials are incredibly stupid however.
I’m also as loyal to AAPL as they come…but a recent trifecta of problems is testing my fanboy-love. There’s this iPhone issue, then the parents’ iMac’s SuperDrive blew itself to pieces (sounds like a blender when it runs), and the MacBook Pro’s battery is doing wonky things. I’m going to go get that replaced tonight so hopefully that’s handled well and my AAPL-love can resume, long puts notwithstanding…
On the other hand, the Google Nexus phone had me excited for a bit…until I found out it’s on T-Mobile (or $500+ unlocked). Bleh.
Booking GS calls/daytrade and HUM puts from yesterday.
Don’t be an idiot. Get the 3gs aka the phone of god
Put down your false idols and worship me!
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Well, I’ll ask him but I don’t think he’ll be very keen. He’s already got one, you see!
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On a sidenote, we have decided to upgrade the wifey to the 3GS as well. And the AAPL Genuises have redeemed the company in by giving my MacBook Pro a brand spanking new battery, covered under AppleCare warranty.
Crappy AT&T negates any value of the fruit phone.
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Wrong.
Crappy phones negate any value of Verizon.
I am not enamored of ghey “apps.” As long as I can get email and actual communications ability, I don’t care if I can play Super Mario Bros, et al.
Unfortunately, shitbag AT&T networks cannot guarantee me a solid line all the time. They suck Donkey Kong bawls.
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Oh, so you want to *TALK* on your phone?! How quaint…
LOL.
Happy new year, Grumpy Old Man.
Time for more bubb-buh-leeeh.
AT & T the only thing that works ova heir & the wifey and I love the I-phone!