The iPhone killer seems to revive more often than Freddie Kruger and Michael Myers combined. Its latest incarnation comes by way of Amazon (AMZN), which is, according to Bloomberg, readying a smartphone to compete with Apple (AAPL). Scuttlebutt (to be taken for what it's worth) is that this latest, greatest iPhone killer, as it's been called in headlines, will be let loose on the world late this year, in time for Christmas.
As if on cue, the stock is up -- even on a day turned dodgy by murderously bad jobs numbers.
That's no good. Running into a stock on a bloody day, leading into a summer weekend because you think the company will beat the iPhone into submission is a crime against humanity, or at least your portfolio.
But just because you need to stay away doesn't mean Amazon might not be laying the long-term basis to enter an expanding market and grab a bit of its own.
Until we put our hands on the phone (and even then) it's all guesswork. It is essential, though, in these circumstances not to chase the stock on a hype-day hunch, while still allowing for the distant possibility that Amazon can find its way into the field.
That's an important distinction too: if expectations are for an iPhone killer, fuhgeddaboudit.
Ain't gonna' happen.
At the same time, Amazon already is in the device business. This will expand their Fire-led ambitions of making money from digital music, movies and books. Moreover, nearly 400 million smartphones are shipping a quarter. There is room for another player to edge its way alongside the usual suspects like Apple and Google (GOOG).
You got that? Don't put a gun to your own head by buying Amazon today on the suspicion that they'll slay Apple. Won't happen. But keep your eye on them -- and their non-iPhone killing phone -- for the long run.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
