When Microsoft acquired Nokia’s Devices and Services business unit in April, it also acquired both the Lumia and Asha trademarks. The Nokia brand remained with the Finnish company but Microsoft licensed it for its range of mobile devices including smartphones. The expectation was that Microsoft would gradually shift away from the Nokia brand, with the move happening within 18 months for the smartphone line. It now appears instead that Microsoft could continue to use it for some time yet.
According to the usually reliable @evleaks, Microsoft and Nokia are in “the final stages” of negotiations to license the Nokia brand for its smartphone line. Should the deal close, Microsoft will brand future smartphones “Nokia by Microsoft.”
Microsoft will also reportedly retire the Surface brand and adopt the Lumia brand for its tablets.
With Nokia accounting for the majority of Windows Phone device sales to date, the two brands are intimately tied. It certainly makes sense for Microsoft to continue to leverage that brand rather than trying to build up a completely new one. The move to retire the Surface brand does not appear to make as much sense given how much money and effort Microsoft has spent on it so far. The decision appears to be driven by “brand streamlining.”
We may be about to return to a time when Nokia devices simply bore a model number (like Nokia 110 or Nokia 630). Tablets could be similarly identified using the Lumia brand instead (Lumia 2520).
Source : evleaks.at