Until a few years ago, HTC only made devices for others, but now it has become a brand of its own.Litigation may also make smart-phones dearer.
It is particularly suited for making devices for specialized high-temperature applications.
Foxconn, a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry of Taiwan, makes devices for companies like Apple, Dell and Hewlett-Packard.
The LoJack Corporation, which makes devices for recovering stolen cars, agreed to buy Boomerang Tracking Inc. for about 64 million Canadian dollars ($49 million) to expand into Canada.
It also makes devices for harvesting blood vessels from other parts of the body that are then sewn into the heart to bypass clogged coronary arteries.
Roku, a company that makes devices for streaming entertainment from the Internet onto television, is adding casual games to its lineup.
ReprintsIn January, Gemstar bought the two companies that make devices for reading e-books, Nuvomedia and Softbook Press, both of which were struggling.
Foxconn Technology Group, whose flagship business is Hon Hai Precision Industry, makes devices for a constellation of global brands, including Apple, Dell, Nokia and Hewlett-Packard.
The FT reports that it would partner with hardware companies making devices for homes so that they could get an official imprimatur that they would be both compatible and secure for Apple's new system.
Managing during times like this "is not something you can learn from one downturn to the next," said Guy Gecht, the 36-year-old chief executive of Electronics for Imaging, a Foster City, Calif., company that makes devices for printers.
Another Taiwanese company under serious threat from Samsung is Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn, which makes devices for global clients, including Apple iPhones and iPads, at its huge plants on mainland China.
