Last month HTC was purged of many top executives, including Michael Coombes, the former head of U.K. sales for HTC and James Atkins, a U.K. marketing head for HTC. Those two have resurfaced only weeks later with the announcement that they are launching Kazam, a new smartphone manufacturer. Coombes will be CEO for the new company and Atkins will serve as chief marketing officer. According to the two, Kazam will be about “stunning design, robust hardware, and intuitive technology, underpinned with improved customer service.”

The move is certainly a bold one at a time when we see companies like HTC, Sony and LG struggling against the twin behemoths Apple and Samsung. Considering the trouble established companies are having, it is hard to imagine a startup becoming successful. Kazam will have the challenge of both sourcing parts for the devices it plans to produce and striking deals to get connected with carriers willing to offer their devices. One glimmer of hope is the fact that the company plans to focus on the European market where unlocked devices are more popular. Kazam also promises to differentiate itself by offering support after a sale is made, although it is unclear what that means. Perhaps there will be more of a focus on keeping devices up to the most recent version of Android, assuming that is the operating system chosen for their smartphones.

source: CNET