HTC has been a leading player in the U.S. smartphone market competing comparatively well against Apple throughout the years. Yet with the increasing dominance of Samsung and the growing competition between the company and Apple, the Taiwan-based HTC Corp is in for quite a stumble. Will the latest bump be a temporary slump or is HTC losing ground against Samsung and Apple?

HTC's pending release of the its Google version smartphone has been creating hype but the departure of Kouji Kodera, the company's chief product officer, also leaves the company with much to compensate. Unfortunately, Kodera was not the only one who jumped the fence. Lennard Hoornik, CEO for HTC Asia, also decided to leave.

Departure of key personnel in the company has been ongoing for months. Other fence-jumpers included: Jason Gordon (vice president for global communications), Rebecca Rowland (global retail marketing manager), John Starkweather (digital marketing director) and Eric Lin (product strategy manager).

With HTC losing its pool of talent, company outlooks and predictions dim by the day especially for 2013. HTC One, the latest offering from the company, was intended to compete against iPhone but suffered poor sales in 2012. Investors were quick to catch what is happening and HTC's share prices on the Taiwan exchange went down to $288 against $432.

In defense of HTC, 2012 was a tough year for the smartphone market. The number of competitors increased several times folds pressuring companies to keep up with competition despite unstable conditions. Market shifts by the day forcing more uncertainties on how successful new product offerings can be.

Even Apple, the world's supposedly top player, has also found it hard to keep up with the competition. The entry of Chinese competitors has challenged pricing more than ever - cheaper devices became more accessible.

Regaining ground can be a long way off if the company does not change its direction and if it continues to lose key talents. Apple and Samsung remain strong front-runners. HTC will have to expand its market and invest in the Asian consumer base if it really wants to go head to head with these manufacturing giants.