The iPhone Enigma: Why Do We Do This to Ourselves?

For anyone who owns an iPhone, there is one ever-present nightmare scenario that is at the forefront of your mind: the dreaded shattered screen. Whether or not you have seen this happen to a friend or you have fallen victim to it in the past, you know how awful using the phone can be after this occurs, and there are not many ways to get around it.

The avoidance route would say that its smart to buy a case for your phone. However, its not as if cases in and of themselves are cheap. Rather they add, depending on how much you want to spend and the quality of the case, between 20-25% to your purchase.  Even worse, these do not always work! If you want to maintain any measure of the aesthetic beauty of the iPhone you have to get a somewhat thin case, and these, and I speak from personal experience, will not prevent a cracked screen if the phone is dropped face down.  If you want to as close to eliminate any possibility of broken glass, you have to purchase a bulky Otter Box case that essentially doubles the size of the phone.

The damage control route on the other hand would say just buy insurance with the phone. However, Apple’s (AAPL) insurance program is not as all encompassing as you might expect it to be.  Even if you purchase the $99 AppleCare+ package, that still carries a $49 premium for accidental damage repairs.  And worse, in the case that your phone is stolen or lost, you have no help.

Competitors offer much more protection . Check out the Nokia Lumia Screen 900 “Hammer Test”

Business Section: Investment Ideas

What is an Apple addict to do? Well unless you are incredibly careful and never mishandle your iPhone, it might just be worth it to look into insurance through your mobile service provider or a third party.

If you’re really fed up with Apple’s scam, it might just be time to look to other providers who offer more sturdy hardware at more reasonable prices. We have listed Apple and ompetitors below to help you start your research and mobile shopping.

1. Apple Inc. (AAPL, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. Market cap at $581.06B, most recent closing price at $619.86.

2. Nokia Corporation (NOK, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Provides Internet and digital mapping and navigation services worldwide. Market cap at $10.24B, most recent closing price at $2.67. See the “Hammer Test” video above.

3. Research In Motion Limited (RIMM, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Designs, manufactures, and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Market cap at $3.99B, most recent closing price at $7.62.

4. LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (ERIC, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Provides communications equipment, professional services, and multimedia solutions to mobile and fixed networks operators worldwide. Market cap at $31.93B, most recent closing price at $9.66.

5. Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Provides communication services. Market cap at $125.86B, most recent closing price at $44.18.

6. AT&T, Inc. (T , Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Provides telecommunication services to consumers, businesses, and other service providers worldwide. Market cap at $217.28B, most recent closing price at $37.43.

Compare analyst ratings for these names:

Written by Dan Connelly

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