The two main bits of news today from SmartPhoneLand could not be more different.
First, Apple announced that it had sold 9m of the new iPhone 5c and 5s over the weekend. A record, beating last year's 5m in first weekend sales for the iPhone 5. That allowed Apple to put out an announcement that its revenues for the quarter would be 'at the high end of expectations'. Ie $37b with a 37% profit margin. Apple shares were up 5% when I last looked. On top of that, an amazing 200m downloaded iOS7 - that's half of all eligible iPhone and iPad users.
That is a really stunning result. Made even better by reports of 2m iPhones sold in China over the weekend. Looks like Apple can crack China without a cheap phone eroding margins.
Then came the announcement from Blackberry that it had 'tentatively' accepted a $4.7b/$9 a share 'take private' offer from its current 10% shareholder - Fairfax. However, there is a 'Go Shop' 6 week period to 4th Nov. So this might not be the final offer. However, Blackberry shares rose only marginally to $8.75 - so maybe investors believe that the Fairfax deal might not happen? Certainly they will need to raise extra resources to consummate it.
So here are two companies that have played/ still play a pretty important part in my life. One that seems to be in the way up again. The other seems on the way out.
One thing is clear. Fortunes in tech are changing at an ever increasing pace. 'The first one now will later be last...' And 'later' could now be 'next year' rather than 'next decade'.