Microsoft is retaining the Nokia brand name for the low-cost entry level devices, while it is looking to rebrand the entire inventory with Microsoft Lumia.
Microsoft, the biggest software company, is taking its first official step in rebranding Nokia smartphones as Microsoft Lumia after acquiring the Finnish phone company in April this year. After spending $7 billion in a smartphone manufacturing company, it is expected by the Redmond based software giant to give it a personal touch. And by renaming the brand with Microsoft is as far as it gets. But, the Nokia name is not something that will be gone soon, as the brand has been licensed for entry-level basic phones.
In an interview posted on the Conversations blog Thursday, Microsoft's senior vice president of marketing for phones - Tuula Rytilä - said Nokia will be connected to phones in the low segment, but the Lumia smartphones will bid goodbye to the brand. Rytilä also assured its existing Lumia smartphone owners that the company will continue to offer support for Nokia Lumia phones in the market.
The most-recent additions to the Lumia lineup - the 830, 730 and 735 - will be the last to be branded under Nokia. Rytilä also hinted at a Microsoft Lumia device in the future, but reserved the specs for a later date. Basic devices, such as the Nokia 130, which was unveiled in August, will continue under the same name as it "resonates with this segment of users," Vishal Tripathi, a principal research analyst at Gartner told PC World.
The rebranding was originally reported last month, when the internal documents stating the change were leaked online. But Microsoft came forward this week to confirm that the Nokia name will be replaced by Microsoft in all Lumia branded phones. The rebranding will be seen across global and local websites, social media channels and device packages, Rytilä said.
"Our global and local websites are going through a transition as we speak and in the coming days our social channels will get a new name too-they will be called Microsoft Lumia," she said. "This work continues across our devices, packaging and retail, to name a few."
