Apple (AAPL) Should Just End It All...

...and buy up its competitors.

It can, after all.

At the end of its latest quarter, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) had about $65.74 billion of cash and cash equivalents on its books. This takes into account items like money market funds, commercial paper, munis, and other securities held by the company.

Now take a look at the market caps of these three nagging competitors (as of the close last Friday):

• Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) - $18.86 billion
  
  
• Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) - $23.04 billion
  
  
• Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) - $6.80 billion

Total for all three companies: $48.7 billion, still leaving Apple with $17 billion to roll around in.

Surely, the U.S. DoJ would have something to say about "limiting competition" and then "price fixing." But didn't these other companies already have a chance to be competitive?

Thanks to someone followed on Twitter for the perspective.

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