Sleeping With Godzilla

Well, the Apple reveal is about over. Two points are made clear. First, the law of large numbers (of which there are a small number) is biting Apple wannabe billionaires in the tusch. It's much easier to sustain a double digit growth rate when you're the little fish in a big pond; lots of other little fishies to eat. Get to be the largest fish in the only pond, and you'll soon run out of other fishies to eat. Neither of the iPhones strikes me as a gotta have. But then, I use a mobile phone to make phone calls, not support a distraction habit. A failure on my part, I admit. These new phones aren't likely to be much more than replacement buys by current zealots.

Second, the Watch (not, stressed by some, an iWatch) is fully underwhelming. Suunto et al have had similar for decades. And the strap appears to be generic plastic (news: also leather or stainless, all for the same price???). Brightly colored, of course. But, still, plastic. It ain't what iPod was.

But, as to the title: GT Advanced Technologies which makes both sapphire tools and sapphire (the latter mostly newly), some months back announced a "deal" with Apple. At first blush, the reaction was "Apple!! Let's go buy that yacht!!" On further reflection, the "deal" turns out to be mostly a loan against deliveries, for which Apple is not obliged to make any purchases. So, over the months, the bulls and bears argued about where Apple would use all this sapphire that GT was obliged to hold capacity to deliver (but, remember, Apple wasn't obliged to buy). The 6, of course, was the bonanza. Not only larger screen (4.7 and 5.5, in turns out), but would sell by the millions. As I type, the nature of the screen of the 6 is still being argued. According to various live-blogs (the stream, of course, crashed), it's an updated Gorilla Glass (Corning), not full sapphire. The Watch is being described as sapphire, but it's teeny in size and of unknown quantity. GT's share price has been pounded, headed back to the LoD.

Don't go to bed with Godzilla. You'll likely get eaten.