After the company’s acquisition of Nokia earlier this year, the soon-to-be-released Lumia smartphone will no longer bear the Nokia brand name any longer instead it will be called Microsoft Lumia.
No further details about the new Lumia are currently known. In October, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) revealed an orange frame of a smartphone with Microsoft logo on it, hinting at a new smartphone. Now, Microsoft has launched a new image showing a part of the new Lumia phone it will be launching on the 11th of this month. This latest image shows the top-right corner of the phone with an orange frame and a front camera.
Lumia phones are known for sporting a fresh look and user friendly interface. The phones are also famous for having excellent hardware in camera and body structure. However, Lumia has failed to capture the attention of the masses and a major factor is the Windows operating system it incorporates within its system.
Currently, Windows Phone, which is Microsoft’s smartphone OS, only powers a little over 2.5% of the total smartphone population in the world. The market is dominated by Google Android, which powers over 85% of phones, with Apple iOS powering all the iPhones. With the new Lumia, analysts expect a revamped version of the Windows Phone OS will be released alongside to power the phone and make it a worthy competitor in the highly competitive smartphone market.
The teaser for the new Lumia came with the hashtag #MoreLumia on social media websites Twitter and Facebook. Microsoft is adamant to make Lumia a success. According to the company, Lumia makes up a significant portion of Microsoft’s future plans. With Lumia, Microsoft aims to popularize and showcase its Windows Phone platform.
The Lumia smartphone was often powered with the latest version of the Windows Phone OS, even before Nokia was acquired by Microsoft for over $7.2 billion. Nokia was acquired by Microsoft after the former failed to become a success amidst increasing competition from Android OS powered devices. Android OS has become famous because it powers devices, which are at the lower end of the price scale; hence it is able to cater to the needs of those at the lower levels of the income scale, a sector that was previously catered to by Nokia phones.
Microsoft has been aiming at increased hardware sales, which are powered by its operating systems and it has seen some success in the tablet division, with the new Microsoft Surface. In the first quarterly report for this fiscal year ended 30th September, Microsoft reported Surface revenue of over $908 million; a value up 127% from last year’s figure.
Now Microsoft eyes similar success in the Lumia smartphone line. The dropping of the Nokia brand name is the first step towards this ambition.
However, Nokia fans have no need to be disappointed; Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) VP for the marketing of phones, Tuula Rytila, has confirmed that the Nokia brand name is not being killed entirely in the process. As Nokia commands a significant influence in emerging markets all over the world, the Nokia brand name will stay with many lower-end Nokia phones in existence.
