BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Microsoft Deletes Nokia, Redmond's Mobile Future Is Lumia

Following
This article is more than 9 years old.

Following on from online discussions around Microsoft's plans to depreciate the Nokia and Windows Phone branding during the 2014 holiday season, Nokia France's Facebook page has confirmed the next step of the process. Yesterday the admins on the page announced that the 'Nokia France' page will be changing its name to 'Microsoft Lumia'.

This matches speculation over the Windows Phone branding from earlier this year, and would be consistent with the agreements in place when Microsoft purchased Nokia's Devices and Services division (which was finalized earlier this year) for $7.5 billion. That purchase gave Microsoft all the rights to the 'Lumia' brand name, and permission to use the Nokia brand name on mobile products for up to ten years (and just eighteen months on smartphone products).

Soon to be known as the Microsoft Lumia 830 (image: Ewan Spence)

Redmond's recently announced handsets have had rather unwieldy names - try saying Microsoft Nokia Lumia 735 Windows Phone ten times in quick succession - so the rationalisation behind the name that Microsoft owns, rather than leases, is expected. The dropping of 'Windows Phone' as a brand name brings the handset nomenclature to a more easily handled form... such as  the Microsoft Lumia 735.

While there are a number of manufacturers using the mobile operating system known for a little while longer as Windows Phone, I would expect a phrase such as 'Windows powered' to appear on the packaging and marketing of these handsets. It's not a huge concern right now, as Microsoft's (former) Nokia handsets accounted for almost nine in ten Windows Phone handsets sold.

It appears that the switch-over will not have a hard date, but simply bubble through various properties. Almost all of the apps that were once under Nokia's purview have been updated with the solo 'Lumia' branding, web traffic is being redirected to the new Microsoft's Mobile Devices homepage, and the packaging for peripherals has excised 'Windows Phone' from the text.

Microsoft has stated on many occasions that it is looking to unify the various platforms under its control into a single code base. Calling that base platform Windows provides for many advantages in horizontal marketing and promotion, and leaves product names such as Lumia (but also Surface and OneDrive) free to be the primary name in specific verticals.

Meanwhile Nokia continues to push forward, with the launch of a new beta for the HERE Maps product for Android devices as a free download from the here.com website. I'll have more on HERE Maps in this week's Android Circuit news digest.