Microsoft Sticks Fork In Nokia Brand, Microsoft Lumia To Be New Bread And Butter In Mobile
It's no secret that Microsoft's been wanting to snuff out its Nokia and Windows Phone brands, so you'll have to excuse us for not even bothering to feign surprise that the Redmond outfit has finally gone through with it. In Nokia's place, Microsoft will roll with "Microsoft Lumia" for its branding and related advertising of handsets.
This doesn't mean that Nokia is gone from the world (though when visiting Nokia.com, you're now urged to click through to the Microsoft Mobile website) -- the company is still around as a separate entity focused on digital mapping and navigation services, as well as telecommunications network equipment. However, Nokia sold its phone business to Microsoft back in April for $7.2 billion, and with Microsoft retiring the brand, you won't see any Windows-based Nokia phone releases in the future.
One thing that's interesting about the move at this point is that Microsoft negotiated the rights to use the Nokia brand on mobile products for the next 10 years when acquiring the company's handset business. It's barely been six months and Microsoft appears ready to move on, or perhaps it has other plans for the Nokia brand, such as Android devices or even the wearables category.
Another big question mark is what Microsoft will do with its Windows Phone brand. As it stands, most Lumia handsets sport the Nokia logo on the front and back. That will obviously change, but what will take its place isn't yet known and probably won't be until Microsoft releases a new handset.
This doesn't mean that Nokia is gone from the world (though when visiting Nokia.com, you're now urged to click through to the Microsoft Mobile website) -- the company is still around as a separate entity focused on digital mapping and navigation services, as well as telecommunications network equipment. However, Nokia sold its phone business to Microsoft back in April for $7.2 billion, and with Microsoft retiring the brand, you won't see any Windows-based Nokia phone releases in the future.
One thing that's interesting about the move at this point is that Microsoft negotiated the rights to use the Nokia brand on mobile products for the next 10 years when acquiring the company's handset business. It's barely been six months and Microsoft appears ready to move on, or perhaps it has other plans for the Nokia brand, such as Android devices or even the wearables category.
Another big question mark is what Microsoft will do with its Windows Phone brand. As it stands, most Lumia handsets sport the Nokia logo on the front and back. That will obviously change, but what will take its place isn't yet known and probably won't be until Microsoft releases a new handset.
