From DailyTech: The fate of the Nokia brand and its Lumia-labeled phones has been in question since Microsoft's acquisition of the Finnish company, but it looks like both will retain their original brands.
According to CNET, a Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed that Microsoft will hold onto the Nokia and Lumia brand names once the acquisition is complete. Previously, only the Lumia brand was deemed safe.
Greg Sullivan, Director of Windows Phone, said at Mobile World Congress that Lumia was good to go under Microsoft, but wouldn't mention anything about Nokia. This led some to believe that Microsoft would do a bit of rebranding once the acquisition was complete.
But Microsoft will supposedly hold onto Nokia as well, although we'll probably have to wait and see once the acquisition is done within the first three months of 2014.
Microsoft acquired Nokia's Devices and Services Unit for $7.2 billion ($5 billion for D&S, $2.2 billion to license Nokia's patents for 10 years) back in September 2013.
While Microsoft may not be getting rid of the Nokia or Lumia brand names, it certainly is making some changes when it comes to device leadership within the company. It was recently announced that Julie Larson-Green, head of Microsoft's Devices and Studios Group who recently led Microsoft hardware development, will become chief experience officer for the company’s Applications and Services Group. This means that Larson-Green will work with products like Bing, Office and Skype.
The Devices & Studios Group will be taken over by Stephen Elop, who is the former CEO of Nokia. Elop will take on this role as soon as Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia is complete.
View: Article @ Source Site
