4 ETFs That Could Benefit From The Battle Of The Smartphones

The smartphone industry is facing a round of stiff competition. While individual companies fight it out, technology exchange traded funds (ETFs) could be poised to benefit from the battle.

Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone may be threatened by Motorola’s (MOT) Droid, a smartphone serviced on Verizon’s (VZ) network and powered by Google’s (GOOG) Android 2.0 operating system, according to The Week.

John Herman of Gizmodo believes that the iPhone is already so entrenched in the consumer world that it will still have a dominating presence. David Coursey of PC World argues that the Droid’s practical features are a good lure for consumers looking for something not already on the market.

MG Seigler at TechCrunch sees that Google isn’t trying to undermine iPhones, but rather sell its operating system, which works on a range of different devices.

Many are arguing that the Droid is the most sophisticated mobile device from a hardware standpoint to hit the market, reports Michael Arrington for The Washington Post. The Droid smartphone may be as thin or thinner than the iPhone 3GS, with a slide out physical keyboard and removable battery.

• Vanguard Telecom Services (VOX): up 13.2% year-to-date; Verizon is 20.3%

• iShares Dow Jones U.S. Technology (IYW): up 46.4% year-to-date; Apple is 9%, Google is 6.5%

• iShares S&P Global Telecommunications (IXP): up 5.7% year-to-date; AT&T is 15.3%; Verizon is 8.2%

• Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK): up 35.5% year-to-date; Apple is 7.7%; AT&T is 8.9%; Google is 4.8%; Verizon is 4.5%

For full disclosure, Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of XLK.

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