Lumia 532 marketing reveals Microsoft is ready to drop “Windows Phone” branding

Last week, Microsoft added a couple of new devices to its low-end Lumia line, including the Lumia 532, an update to last summer’s Lumia 530. Overall, the device wasn’t that interesting. Sure, it brought Windows 8.1 for less than $100, but it wasn’t exactly lighting our fire. Well, this week, the Lumia 532 got a bit more intriguing.

Windows Central points out that a quick Bing search for the device shows that Microsoft is advertising the phone as “Windows 10 ready” in search results. Though it’s exciting to get confirmation that even the lower end devices Microsoft is releasing today are somewhat future proof (Windows 10 won’t arrive until the fall), this little slip up also gives us some idea as to what Microsoft is doing with regard to branding.

Reports over the last few months have suggested that, with Windows 10, Microsoft is continuing its efforts to deliver a “one Windows fits all” experience where the OS will offer a seamless experience across all platforms. We’ve seen some of this with Continuum mode, which debuted in the Windows 10 technical preview a couple of months back and will allow users to switch between laptop and tablet mode more easily.

Though branding is obviously not the most complicated or complex issue related to that endeavour, it is an issue if Microsoft really wants consumers to get on board with the idea that their phone and tablet are extensions of their computer and vice versa. Around the time Microsoft ditched the Lumia branding, there was also talk that the company would ditch the “Windows Phone” name. Word on the street was that Microsoft planned to fold the Windows Phone name into the general Windows Phone branding to eliminate confusion. Looks like that day has finally come.

[source]Windows Central[/source]