…And You Thought Nokia Phones Couldn’t Be Destroyed

27/10/2014 Sandi

Microsoft acquired Nokia to try and help it grow its really slumping demand but recent smartphone releases show they’re still a long way off from becoming a major rival. The deal was closed for $7.2 billion dollars but Microsoft was buying the business, not entirely the name. They are licenced to use the name on their smartphones for up to 18 months from the date of the deal closure.

Dumping Symbian platforms and jumping on the Android bandwagon seemed a logical move as Google’s operating system seems the only rival to Apple’s iOS on the smartphone scene, leaving the world only thinking of two choices for OS, Android or iOS. Let’s not even talk about BlackBerry here.

It seems Nokia may be a name of the past as Microsoft is set to replace it with ‘Microsoft Lumia’, going one country at a time. India and France seem to be among the first countries the change will happen in. Expect changes to the ‘Nokia’ name on their social media pages too.

What does this do for their market?

Changing a product’s name may risk you losing equity, the little consumer loyalty you have, and ultimately market share, which they desperately need a piece of already. Their Lumia range has made its mark on the phone market but not to the extent that it’s everyone’s go-to gadget.

However, a product name change isn’t doesn’t not always work against a manufacturer. They may attract market if they upgrade, which is what should be happening.

Sources say they may make improvements such as cloud storage drives available even to the lower end phones that cost less than a $100.

We can only speculate about the outcome and say it could work either way. All they have to do is make the name ‘Microsoft’ seem more fun, to attract more customers. The first thought anyone has when you think ‘Microsoft’ is PCs, laptops, big gadgets. So they have to change our perception of the brand, the way Apple and Samsung are viewed.

If they can do that, then maybe we can look at Microsoft as a worthy opponent to the cooler brands out there.