HTC Confirms Job Cuts at U.S. Operations

Struggling Taiwanese phone maker HTC cut more than two dozen jobs at its U.S. offices on Friday.

The company said in a statement that the cuts were "a decisive action by HTC Corp (US) to streamline and optimize our organization and improve efficiencies after several years of aggressive growth."

HTC didn't offer details on the cuts or provide a specific number, but a source familiar with the situation said that about 30 positions were eliminated. No executives left, nor was there any significant shift in the types or amount of work being done in the U.S., according to an HTC representative.

"This is a hard decision that has direct impact on people who have contributed to the growth HTC has experienced the past several years," HTC said in its statement. "However, to achieve our long-term goals as a business and return maximum value to our shareholders, this is a necessary step to drive ongoing innovation."

After several years of strong growth, HTC has been trying to rebound from what has been a steep dropoff in sales of its smartphones. The company has also faced some turmoil at the corporate level, including the departure of several top executives.

As part of the turnaround push, HTC recently launched a new ad campaign starring Robert Downey Jr.

The job cuts were reported earlier by The Verge.

TransAsia plane crash-lands in river in Taiwan

Reports say regional airliner came down in Keelung river in Taipei, with television footage showing ruptured fuselage in water

A TransAsia Airways plane has crash-landed in a Taipei river, according to reports, with pictures posted online appearing to show the stricken aircraft coming down.

These appear to be some photos of the TransAsia ATR72 crashing over the roadway. via @missxoxo168 h/t @marker7193 pic.twitter.com/7WlvhVFI6j

Initial reports says ~12 people rescued, at least another 10 trapped in the plane. #GE235 #Taiwan #aviation pic.twitter.com/4qNYo5l1fb

Here's another live footage from Taiwan's CTI News pic.twitter.com/0dOOim9LHK

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Pegatron to Become Largest iPhone Manufacturer in 2015

According to Focus Taiwan, Pegatron Corp. is positioned to become the largest recipient of iPhone orders in 2015, a move which is clearly part of a continued effort to diversify its supply chain. Hopefully these efforts will continue to keep future products such as the rumored iPad Pro and the upcoming iWatch on track for successful development and delivery.

"For the next product cycle, iPhone 6S, likely out in September 2015, we believe for the first time in the iPhone history, Pegatron will become the main source for assembly, with more than 50 percent of the 4.7-inch allocation," [an undisclosed] European brokerage said in a note to clients on Monday.

I honestly didn't realize the full scope of Pegatron's reach as a corporation across the globe and so I looked them up. I included the picture above specifically to show a little bit more about where they are located and I discovered they do so much more than make phones for Apple. The increased iPhone orders are still going to raise their profile and have already helped raise their stock.

The diversification of suppliers helps manage a number of issues such as keeping prices lower and spreading products around so that isolated incidents wont affect production overall. Pegatron has reportedly already been producing 30% of iPhone 6 devices, with Foxconn producing the other 70%.

Foxconn is likely to remain an important supplier but recent reports suggest they are diversifying their own products and even taking on sapphire glass. If rumors are true that a large format iPad is in the works, and with the increased iPhone sizes, all of the additional parts and glass have to come from somewhere. As Apple continues to increase their investments in proven companies, they will ensure that products can be released on time with significant amounts ready to go early on.

Has Apple Hit a Wall in China?

When Apple reported earnings for its second fiscal quarter back in April, CEO Tim Cook touted the period as the company's "best quarter ever in Greater China," and celebrated the eight percent growth it had seen in the region. Three months later, Apple's trajectory in China has taken a decidedly different turn, and Cook's upbeat proclamations about the company's future in the country have morphed into stalwart reassurances.

In Apple's latest quarter, revenue from Greater China - which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan - fell 14 percent year over year to $4.6 billion. That's a 43 percent decline from the previous quarter, the one Cook touted as Apple's best ever.

What happened?

That's not entirely clear. Attempting to explain the decline during an earnings call with analysts this week, Cook said that the drop Apple reported in Greater China appears worse than it is because the company better managed its channel inventory. "Our sell-through in China was only down four percent from the year-ago quarter, when you normalize for channel inventory," he said. He also noted that sell-through in mainland China for the period actually rose five percent year over year. Unfortunately, sell-through in Hong Kong fell by about 20 percent, weighing down sales for the entire region. Why? Said Cook, "It's not totally clear exactly what occurred."

That may be so, but the argument could be made that Apple's recent performance in Greater China would have been much improved by two things: A distribution deal with China Mobile, China's largest carrier, and a lower-priced iPhone that will appeal to the less-wealthy side of its massive subscriber base, which at last count numbers more than 700 million.

As BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk told AllThingsD, "Apple needs to deliver a low-priced 2.6 GHz TD-LTE phone to China Mobile, and all this unnecessary anguish can be resolved."

Perhaps, though, Apple needs to continue to up its game in Greater China in other ways, as well - expanding its retail-store footprint and dramatically increasing iPhone availability in the region. Which is exactly what Cook said the company is doing.

"We're going to double the number of retail stores in China for the next two years," Cook said. "We're continuing to lift iPhone point of sales and iPad sales, both of which are currently lower than where we would want them or need them today. But we're doing that very cautiously with what we want to do with great quality. And so I continue to believe that in the arc of time here, China is a huge opportunity for Apple."