Hidden Hands

Their names don’t appear on the products. But a group of little-known companies are coming up with the designs for an increasing number of products sold under top brands, from Motorola and Palm to Hewlett-Packard and Dell. Some examples of the leading players:

Quanta

This independent design house was spun off of Philips’ cell-phone business in France and China

• R & D Staff: 800
• Key Products Designed: Cell phones for Phillips, Siemens, Haier, others