Microsoft recently swallowed Nokia’s device division whole, saying it would focus on “simplicity and elegance in design and use.” Stephen Elop, Executive VP of Microsoft Devices and ex-CEO of Nokia, previously stated, “The Nokia brand is available to Microsoft to use for its mobile phones products for a period of time, but Nokia as a brand will not be used for long going forward for smartphones. Work is underway to select the go forward smartphone brand.”
The details of that rebranding and timeline has been leaked online thanks to @evleaks. According to a couple of slide decks from what looks to be a Microsoft presentation, the “Microsoft brand will only replace the Nokia brand in product, applications and experiences when Microsoft has launched a new product into the market.” That being said, it looks like to rollout will begin January 1st, 2015 and begin internally, then rolling out to Nokia’s social channels, and finally, by mid-January, hit retail outlets.
Some other notable tidbits form the documents reveals that “Microsoft has the right to the Nokia brand for product purposes in connection with devices that carry the Nokia brand (18-months post-close for Lumia devices; through December 31st 2015 for Nokia X devices; and 10 years for mobile phones.)”
Microsoft completed its purchase of Nokia last April for $7.5 billion and has already promoted how they are “Not Like Everybody Else.” The documents are below and there are a total of 32 interesting FAQs to read over. Nokia branding could be around for a number of months to come, but for those feeling a bit nostalgic, the famous “Nokia Tune” is staying out of Microsoft’s hands.
Source: evleaks
