In a move that’s as unsurprising as it is heartbreaking, the former Number One mobile phone vendor Nokia is going away. Nokia will, after April this year, be known as Microsoft Mobile.
The deal that brought the Finnish company under the ownership of Microsoft started moving late last year, leaving the fate of what was once a seemingly unstoppable juggernaut uncertain. While the deal was going through, it was business as usual for the brand, with Nokia continuing to populate the market with Windows Mobile smartphones; really one of the only manufacturers to do so.
It’s not all bad news, however. A leaked letter to Nokia’s suppliers was rather clear in saying that the name change, while seemingly devastating, doesn’t mean the company will disappear. Under the direction of the Redmond HQ, Microsoft seeks to challenge Samsung and Apple for the top spot in the mobile phone world. With much tighter control over the direction the manufacturer is taking, we should be able to see a lot of great things from Microsoft Mobile in the near future.
A report from www.marketing-interactive.com stated that more than 30000 people are going to end up directly under Microsoft, including almost 5,000 from Finland and 18,300 employees directly involved in the manufacturing process.
It was a fun ride while it lasted.
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