Google apparently isn’t the only company that has had its eye on releasing customizable smartphones. Unnamed sources tell The Verge that HTC was planning to release its own Moto X-style device that buyers could custom-order with different colors and personal engravings but that it cancelled the project due to high costs and the difficulty in shipping custom-made devices in a timely fashion.
Google and Motorola have opened up assembly plants in the United States to help reduce shipping times for custom-made devices in North America, so it seems that HTC would have had to invest in more production facilities around the world to make its customizable phone scheme work.
The blog also says that HTC might have used its Windows Phone-based HTC 8XT as a guinea pig for the initiative, which would have made sense since having multiple color options is one of the hallmarks of Windows Phone devices.
