UTStarcom plays a strange and interesting role in the mobile phone industry. They make a whole bunch of low-end phones for Verizon and Sprint that typically get awful reviews, but sell well because they're cheap. They also import high-end, cutting-edge phones from Asian manufacturers for sale in the US - things like the HTC Touch and XV6800 for Verizon and Casio's waterproof G'zOne.

Finally, their CEO, Philip Christopher, is one of the more hilariously mouthy guys in the industry. Christopher once publicly compared his company to the Viet Cong, while flashing his entire next year's product roadmap on a screen and causing his PR people to cringe in horror. I personally think he's great.

Anyway, UT sent out a completely incomprehensible press release today, which you can try to read at their Web site.

Like with Motorola, they're spinning off their cell phone division and may change the brand. But this is a little odder and more complex than the Motorola deal. The old UTStarcom will continue to make phones, it seems, but won't sell any of them in the US. The new company will exclusively be an importer and will put its name on various Asian phones, including ones made by its former parent company.

The new company has the generic name of Personal Communications Devices, LLC; presumably it will get a less unwieldy name soon. PCD spokespeople say that the company will keep going about its business of importing phones for US carriers, but that the name on those phones might change. That's all.