Once upon a time, HTC was a company that did nothing but build phones and then slap someone else's logo on them. They figured out that they could make more money if they took a risk and developed their own brand, and thus HTC smartphones were born. Today Foxconn builds smartphones for Nokia, Sony, Motorola, and even Apple. According to DigiTimes, who has a track record that's about 50/50 when it comes to rumors, Foxconn is thinking of pulling the same move HTC did over half a decade ago. That's right, Foxconn wants to become their own brand and sell phones directly to customers.

Should Foxconn jeopardize their existing relationships to see if they can make it big? Absolutely! When you think about it, why not cut out the middleman? What exactly does a company like Nokia actually do other than buy processors from Qualcomm, screens from Toshiba, storage chips from Samsung, and then flash the final product with software from Microsoft? There was once a time when consumer goods made in Japan were considered to be of questionable quality. Now “Made in Japan” is synonymous with fine craftsmanship. That same transition is currently taking place with goods from South Korea. Is China next? At this point it's inevitable.

What's the worst case scenario? Nokia, Sony, and Motorola all open up their own factories, thus giving more jobs to the people of China? Would those companies even dare to move some of their production back to Europe or America?

HTC was incredibly forward thinking when they decided to sell their own branded smartphones. Huawei is trying to build their brand both at home and abroad. We wish Foxconn the best of luck with their transition, because let's be honest for a second, this market needs more players competing with each other.

Not less.