Like every smart investor, Cramer always looks for ways in which to get ahead of the curve. And one of his favorite sources of inspiration comes from the tech column written by David Pogue of the New York Times.
Recently, Pogue talked about a call-in Q&A program he did for NPR. He was taken by the fact that all six callers had the same question, "Which tablet should I get?"
Click here to go to NYT: Hot Gift Is a Tablet, but Which to Buy?
As an investor, Jim Cramer is always seeking answers but in this particular circumstance he felt the question revealed much more. "For me the question is the perfect jumping off point to gauge the future of the technology stocks."
Though circumstantial, the Mad Money host felt if 6 people shared the same question – than it spoke volumes.
However, before examining what was said, Cramer noted that it was equally important to look at what was not said.
They didn't ask about PC's. "To me that means stay away from Hewlett-Packard andDell, " said Cramer.
Take that a step further and you probably want to avoid things inside PC's – "think Seagate and Western Digital, as well asIntel and perhaps even Microsoft," Cramer explained.
Now – what did all the callers want to know about? Tablets.
Although there are dozens and dozens of tablets on the market, Cramer thinks in this market, brand names will matter. And the most widely known brands are probably the Barnes & Noble Nook, Amazon's Kindle, Google's Nexus and Apple's iPad.
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Although the Nook tablet has gotten great reviews, Barnes & Noble stock isn't anything to write home about.
BKS reported a 4 cent loss and, more important, despite what looks to be outstanding Nook sales of $160 million this quarter, the company generated $1.88 billion in sales that didn't produce much of a return.
The other tablets and the underlying stocks, however, may be a different story.
- Amazon
"This stock remains terrific, not just because of the Kindle, but because it is offering superior value on everything it sells," Cramer opined.
- Google
Although Cramer conceded the last quarter was nothing to shout about, he also said, Google's a player where it has to be, in tablets and phones. "Whenever we write this one off, it innovates to get back in the game."
- Apple
"The game still belongs to Apple because of the 275,000 tablet-designed apps that make the Apple ecosystem a winner," Cramer said.
What's the bottom line?
"All three of these companies offer superior products at great value," said Cramer. "These companies are relentless innovators. The more I dig, the more I realize all three could be winners in their own way."
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