Nokia Becomes Microsoft Mobile

[Andy Chalk]

Nokia Becomes Microsoft Mobile

A leaked email reveals that Nokia's handset division, acquired by Microsoft in a deal announced last year, will be renamed to Microsoft Mobile once the buyout is complete.

Microsoft announced [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/127404-Microsoft-Buys-Nokia] in September 2013 that it had entered into a deal to acquire the Devices and Services business of Finnish communications giant Nokia for $7.2 billion. The two companies had already joined together to develop the Lumia brand of mobile phones, and Nokia was Microsoft's leading partner on the Windows Phone 8 platform.

But with the deal slated to wrap up by the end of April, word has slipped out that Nokia as a smartphone brand will soon cease to exist, at least for awhile. "On September 3, 2013, Nokia Corporation announced its intention to sell substantially all of its Devices and Services Business to Microsoft Corporation. We anticipate the transaction to close during April 2014," a leaked supplier email states. "Please note that upon the close of the transaction between Microsoft and Nokia, the name of Nokia Corporation/Nokia Oyj will change to Microsoft Mobile Oy."

"Oy" is the Finnish equivalent of "Ltd."

It's a big branding change, but it doesn't necessarily mean the end of the line for the Nokia name in the handset business: The terms of the deal, according to Seeking Alpha [http://seekingalpha.com/article/1679072-will-nokia-phones-make-a-comeback-in-2015], allow Nokia to resume the use of its logo on smartphones after 2015.

Source: WMPoweruser [http://wmpoweruser.com/nokias-handset-division-to-be-renamed-microsoft-mobile-oy/]


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[Mumorpuger]

As long as the construction quality stays the same, sounds good to me...

 

[RealRT]

Oy indeed. Oh well. Maybe now Windows Phones will actually be worth anything.

 

[Ralphfromdk]

As long as the construction quality stays the same, sounds good to me...

Oy indeed. Oh well. Maybe now Windows Phones will actually be worth anything.

Yeah, that would be a no to both of those thing. Nokia never really did make the jump to smartphones all that well, and the quality suffered a lot. There's a reason for them letting Microsoft buy them. The company was in the shitter.
Mix shitty built phones with Microsofts stupid metro OS, and things are just waiting to burst into flames all on their own.

 

[shiajun]

I get why they can't name the phones "nokia", but damn is that one way to kill a decades old brand. And I do Like my Lumia.

 

[Weaver]

I can't wait until there's 3 technology companies that just own everything.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

"Oy" is the Finnish equivalent of "Ltd."

And "oy" is also what I said, and it's the Rogue Wolf equivalent of "Microsoft just can't keep its name off of everything it gets its grubby little hands on".

I can't wait until there's 3 technology companies that just own everything.

And they'll all be owned by the same guy.

 

[FalloutJack]

I can't wait until there's 3 technology companies that just own everything.

Oh, I beg to differ. Since the competency rate of big companies appears to be fairly similar across the board, you'll be getting cases of big ones and their goof-ups giving way to indies like they do in game development.

 

[Grabehn]

And there I was, actually thinking about finally changing my phone and trying to get a Nokia cuz I used to like them before and this comes out... No, just no, "Microsoft Mobile" really? Why rename a hugely recognized brand to... that?

 

[JayRPG]

Good, great, Grand in fact.

Perfect opportunity for Nokia to 'disappear' to the common consumer who doesn't know it was renamed Microsoft Mobile.

Meanwhile, Nokia themselves are working on a range of superior Android smartphones and make a blistering return after 2015.

Nokia needed this, they need to distance themselves from their own brand name, all people know about them now is how they didn't adapt to the smartphone culture and churned out absolute garbage handset after handset all with the same glaring problems (N6, N7, N8, N9).

If they stay behind the scenes working on a range of ultra-durable (but still sleek, good looking) Android phones they will be able to recapture some of what made them great before smartphones.

Their latest attempts are not bad but Windows Phone is definitely holding them back and because of that they can't overturn most smartphone user's judgement that they are still garbage.

And there I was, actually thinking about finally changing my phone and trying to get a Nokia cuz I used to like them before and this comes out... No, just no, "Microsoft Mobile" really? Why rename a hugely recognized brand to... that?

Because they aren't recognized for being good anymore, some of us still remember when they were -the- name in mobile/cell phones but to the majority now they are just that company that couldn't make a smartphone to save their lives.

 

[dochmbi]

I just wanted to chime in here and say that I love my Lumia 620, it's the fastest, well designed and most stable smartphone I've used so far and it does everything I want it to do

 

[AstaresPanda]

I loved Nokia, but i must admit i have not owned one for a very long time, but i knew if i droped it nothing would happen lol. And thats what i love, they can handle everyday use. My older bro got a galaxy s3 not long after he came out, dropped it sitting down height to the floor, screen fucked. If it were my Nokia the most it would do was turn off.

Its very sad for them to be renaming it but i guess as long as apples dam iphones are given a run for their money.

 

[Strazdas]

As long as the construction quality stays the same, sounds good to me...

it hasnt been the same ever since Microsoft Rep became boss of Nokia years ago.

Oy indeed. Oh well. Maybe now Windows Phones will actually be worth anything.

This implies Nokia is good. it is not.

I can't wait until there's 3 technology companies that just own everything.

So, google, facebook and Microsoft?

Altrough a more likely scenario is Disney. You may not think so, but damn they own everything.

 

[vagabondwillsmile]

And there I was, actually thinking about finally changing my phone and trying to get a Nokia cuz I used to like them before and this comes out... No, just no, "Microsoft Mobile" really? Why rename a hugely recognized brand to... that?

Because, Microsoft. They took the instantly recognizable Rare logo and "improved" it via rebranding to become bland featureless corporate font #36.

There are most likely contractual and trademark concerns that suggest a renaming. But even there weren't, it's still Microsoft.

 

[Alek The Great]

As much as I'm saddened to see the Nokia name go, I don't think the name change is as bad as people suggest. Lumia devices will probably bear that name from now on instead of Nokia, but I don't think they'll go ahead and put "Microsoft Mobile" on phones instead - it's just the corporate name for what has become a new division at Microsoft (remember that Microsoft has never actually made phone hardware so they're still leaving it in the hands of the Nokia side).

I have a Lumia 1520, and I've never been happier with a smartphone. The hardware is amazing (gotta love Nokia's smartphone camera tech especially) and the 8.1 update to Windows Phone brings in all the features I could have hoped for. Yes, the app selection is a bit smaller than other smartphone OSes, but I've yet to find an app I really want that I can't get on Windows Phone. The OS itself is fast and fluid and I love seeing the live tiles update (they are more appropriate on mobile than desktop imo).

Good, great, Grand in fact.

Perfect opportunity for Nokia to 'disappear' to the common consumer who doesn't know it was renamed Microsoft Mobile.

Meanwhile, Nokia themselves are working on a range of superior Android smartphones and make a blistering return after 2015.

Nokia needed this, they need to distance themselves from their own brand name, all people know about them now is how they didn't adapt to the smartphone culture and churned out absolute garbage handset after handset all with the same glaring problems (N6, N7, N8, N9).

If they stay behind the scenes working on a range of ultra-durable (but still sleek, good looking) Android phones they will be able to recapture some of what made them great before smartphones.

Their latest attempts are not bad but Windows Phone is definitely holding them back and because of that they can't overturn most smartphone user's judgement that they are still garbage.

Nokia actually developed an Android smartphone, but it's not quite the type you've mentioned. They made low tier ones with a forked version of Android that does not contain Google services (which means they are now blacklisted by Google and can't actually develop other devices running the one with Google services much like the Kindle), matches the Windows Phone UI and ties in with Microsoft and Nokia services instead. It's a bit early to see how well those devices will do, but their hope is to actually get people to switch to Windows Phones in the long run. I feel this may backfire on them though.

Having said all that, I am a bit concerned about the quality of Nokia hardware moving forward. I hope Microsoft doesn't make any changes on that front and I remain optimistic about the future of the WP OS seeing as the 8.1 update allows developers to create one app that will run on Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox One.