HTC tried to knock it out of the park with some of the sexiest phones known to man, but they ended up striking out. Now HTC is going to try something completely different in an effort to increase sales and profits.
The Taiwanese company has set up a separate business unit that will build software for other Android devices from Samsung, LG, and others. It's called HTC Creative Labs and it employs roughly 260 people in Seattle, San Francisco, and Taipei.
The first effort out of this will be Zoe, which I have called one of the best proprietary apps ever created. Unfortunately, HTC never marketed it all that much, but later this week, they will make it available to other Android devices.
It's not clear from the source if it will actually be Zoe or Video Highlights (or both) that will make it's debut. They are in fact two different products. Zoe takes video and burst shots at the same time, while Video Highlights combines all your Zoes, still images, and standalone videos into one nicely edited highlight reel with music. According to Re/code the product will be called Zoe, and it will take videos and images and edit them into a 30-second clip. So it seems as though HTC is taking the Zoe out of Zoe for this release as in your won't be able to capture video and burst shots at the same time. It's like they have rebranded Video Highlights into Zoe. Friends will also be able to edit clips or add content to existing videos.
Head of HTC's interface team, Drew Bamford, referred to Creative Labs as the third act for HTC, and knows this won't be easy since it will take a lot of money and resources. HTC plans on partnering with athletes and musicians in an effort to generate interest, but we don't know who just yet.
Expect Zoe to land later this week, and as far as other projects go, Drew didn't mention anything specifically, but if Zoe gains popularity, you can expect a lot more where that came from.
source: Re/code
