Which Tablet Makers Should You Invest In? – Apple Inc. (AAPL), Google Inc (GOOG)

So a report caught my eye a day or so ago. It came from Juniper Research and covered the tablet and mobile game app market. It predicts that by 2016, more than $3 billion will be spent on game apps. That’s more than ten times the current figure.

It also said that most of the spending will come out of the Far East, China and North America. These markets, already becoming very plugged-in, will only grow more so as things go forward. It’s an interesting time to be alive–though maybe not so much if you’re a part of the traditional computer game industry.

So I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at the makers of tablet devices and smartphones to get a feel for where the growth will be. Not all of these firms make all, or even most, of their money from mobile devices, but it’s a growing market and will soon start commanding some real attention on some bottom lines. I don’t claim to know anything definitive on where it ends up, but I can make some (hopefully shrewd) guesses.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) might not be the granddaddy of them all, but the cool factor surrounding the iPad and iPhone are hard to ignore. And the company’s fans are … well …fanatical. Still, the company seems to justify it. Right now the firm’s stock is down, as you should already know. But I continue to believe this is a strong buy opportunity. With 20% of U.S. tech sales coming from the firm there’s going to be support for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). So if you have it, keep it. Don’t let the herd stampede you. If you don’t have it, now’s the time to buy it. I think Apple bounces back by $100 within a year.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Amazon is a direct competitor with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), of course. Its Kindle line of tablets certainly seem to be making up ground. I’m on record as not being impressed with Amazon, though. Sure, they’re the biggest online retailer. But that’s an easy-to-compete-with title for a firm that’s willing to drop the cash to set up the site and promote it properly. I’d be more impressed with Amazon if the firm had a consistent record of actually making money. As it is, the P/E is through the roof (provided we’re in a quarter in which they show earnings), it’s EPS is negative and God knows when it’s all going to come together. I don’t own any Amazon, and I never advise anyone to do so.

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) may not make the tablets but it does make the OS and sell the apps. That’s enough to put them on this list if I so say so myself. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is always a surprising company, constantly innovating in ways that don’t always seem to make sense at first glance. However, there’s clearly a plan in providing quality services to a wide variety of customers and leveraging each one for a small amount. Everyone knows the firm’s stock has been on a run up. I’m willing to bet on the climb and think that $900 might not be more than a year or so away. P/E is good, EPS is good. If it paid a dividend it’d be a perfect stock.