HTC's Q4 forecast shows that the company is still bleeding money

The story of HTC is really beginning to scare us a bit, due to the parallels our minds instinctively draw. A company of zero repute in the distant 1997, HTC became one of the biggest (contract) manufacturers in the world, but today, it's on its way to a post a second consecutive disappointing showing in Q4. In its 16 year history, HTC has only ever posted a loss once before.

These news come directly from HTC's financial forecasts for Q4. According to the Taiwanese maker, their revenue is projected to be between $1.4 and $1.5 billion. That's below analysts' estimated average of about $1.8 billion, a number compiled by Bloomberg. It would, therefore, appear that HTC's efforts in cutting expenses, enlisting some marketing help, along with the latest entries to its portfolio are unable to drive demand for the company's wares. HTC's sale of its 25% (about $860 million, pre-tax) share in Beats Electronics, also appears incapable of stemming the tide of losses the company is making. Multiple sources have already reported that the Taiwanese manufacturer is working on a new portfolio of lower-end devices for the Chinese market that it hopes will rejuvenate its finances, but these are probably still a few months off.

T-Mobile adds 1 million new customers in Q3

T-Mobile's innovations paid off with 1 million new customers added to its rolls during the third quarter. That continues the trend seen in the previous quarter when it added 678,000 new subscribers to its T-Mobile and MetroPCS brands. CEO John Legere, who has been a breath of fresh air in the industry with his brash attitude and actions, said during a conference call on Tuesday that T-Mobile alone had added more new phone customers than the rest of the industry combined. 

With the introduction of new plans that eliminated subsidized equipment pricing, smashing the old 24 month phone upgrade cycle, and eliminating international roaming charges in over 100 countries, T-Mobile has done more to shake up the industry in a matter of months than any other carrier ever. Legere has even made T-Mobile fans forget all about Carly, the operator's longtime spokeswoman who has apparently gone the way of two-year contracts.

Nexus 5 teardown marks nice 8/10 repairability score, just don't drop it face down

Google's Nexus 5 has received the teardown treatment by iFixit we've been awaiting for with bated breath to see what makes it tick, and some interesting observations have popped up.

First off, despite the sealed unibody design, it receives a repairability score of 8/10, due to the minimum use of adhesive and the modular components that aren't tough to replace, including the 2300 mAh battery. On top of that, the destroyers found the Nexus 5 relatively easy to pry open, with the back cover holding on a few plastic clips and some bottom adhesive. The back has wireless charging coils integrated indeed, as well as NFC connectivity.

The worst piece of news from the teardown - the whole screen assembly is glued together, and it won't be a very cheap replacement if you drop your Nexus 5 face down to a nefarious surface, so we'd advise to put a protector on, but other than that the whole teardown was smooth sailing.