SM - nice move going all-in short last Friday. Gutzy move.
RE: Apple -the numbers looked good, although the iPad sales were lower than analysts expected. Were I an AAPL shareholder, my biggest concern would be the drop in GM. This raises a concern that Apple products may be tending toward lower commodity-style pricing power. There was a time when the iPhone was a dominant Smartphone, but I think that day is ending. I have an HTC Incredible via Verizon and I've compared it side-by-side with a friend's iPhone4 and I sure can't see a clear cut advantage for the iPhone. They are both really terrific devices - although my wife wants to get rid of her Incredible and go back to a phone that just makes calls since she doesn't care to check email every 5 minutes or surf the net while waiting for her food to come at a restaurant. (She likes to have conversation - how retro of her).
As for the iPad, I think it's the ultimate in cool, but at present has limited utility. I have only played with one in the store for about an hour, and while it is fun, it has some limitations. Typing on the virtual KB, at least for me, is very tough compared to a laptop. And, yes, there is a docking station, but for some reason, it doesn't support a mouse - not good in my estimation.
None of these concerns will, of course, deter the Apple Faithful, and I'm sure the stock will recover from its AH drop in a few days, particularly with the Fed acting as the market's insatiable cheerleader.
