Kazam, the UK smartphone start-up run by two former HTC employees, has unveiled the first devices with which it plans to take on more established players.

Seven smartphones have been unveiled, split into the Trooper and Thunder ranges. The five devices in the Trooper range focus on the low to mid-range segment, while the two-strong Thunder line addresses the higher end.

All the devices are based on the Jelly Bean/4.4 version of Android, using the default Android interface rather than a customised version favoured by other manufacturers. They all support dual-SIM functionality and feature removable batteries and SD memory cards slots. LTE is not supported, however.

Kazam was set up in June by Michael Coombes, former head of UK sales for HTC, and James Atkins, who was the vendor’s UK marketing chief.

The company will be competing against other new handset vendors such as Jolla, which is using a development of Nokia’s erstwhile smartphone platform Meego OS for its devices, and Fairphone, which is targeting ethical consumers.

According to the company’s website,”The combination of product quality, disruptive pricing and customer support make us stand out, but it is our ability to readily evolve that sets us apart”.

Kazam promises to replace all devices with cracked screens for the first year, and offers a service to enable technical support staff to remotely access devices to solve problems — called Kazam Rescue.

Screen sizes on the Trooper models range from 3.5 inches to 5.5 inches, with all devices sporting a dualcore processor. The smallest X3.5 has a 2MP rear camera and 0.3MP front camera while larger models have 5MP rear cameras.

The Thunder Q4.5 (pictured) includes a quadcore processor, a 4.5 inch touchscreen and an 8MP rear-facing camera and 2MP forward-facing camera. Specs for the Thunder Q5.0 have not yet been released.

No details have been given about which company will manufacture the devices or which operators and retailers will offer them.