Microsoft is reportedly planning to drop the "Nokia" and "Windows Phone" brands and to make way for the Microsoft "Lumia" brand on its upcoming devices.
According to an internal document obtained by GeekonGadgets, the last Nokia devices to carry the Lumia brand are Lumia 830 and Lumia 730. The report also stated that Microsoft intends to remove the Windows Phone OS brand in its advertisements to highlight the original Windows brand and make Lumia the "hero." Even the Surface tablets are reportedly rebranding as Lumia tablets.
"As part of our planned transition, we will drop the manufacturer names from product references during the holiday campaign," quoted from the leaked document.
These rumors are nothing new. Earlier reports said that Nokia will go dark in the coming months, according to ZDNet. A preview of this is an observation that Microsoft had started using "Windows" only, instead of "Windows Phone" in its smartphone ads.
Former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop turned head of Microsoft's devices group also predicted in April that Nokia is very unlikely to stay long after the $7.2 billion acquisition.
"Nokia as a brand will not be used for long going forward for smartphones," Elop said in a Q&A on Microsoft Mobile's Conversations blog. "Work is underway to select the go-forward smartphone brand."
When asked to comment about the rebranding, a Microsoft spokesperson told CNET: "We have nothing to share."
In July, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced a major layoff of 12,500 employees with the majority coming from the Nokia Devices and Services division who will be notified until early January 2015. Although, the memo explained that the company needed the job cuts to simplify work and to align the role of Nokia into Microsoft, it seemed that the alignment will no longer happen as there will be no Nokia if the latest leak is right.
