Nokia's handset business will be rebranded under Microsoft, but it will not be known as Microsoft Mobile, former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop confirmed today.
"Microsoft Mobile Oy is a legal construct that was created to facilitate the merger," Elop said during an online Q&A session today. "It is not a brand that will be seen by consumers."
Reports about the Microsoft Mobile Oy moniker first made the rounds last week thanks to a report from NokiaPowerUser.com. But according to Elop, who is now executive vice president of the Microsoft Devices Group, a new name has not yet been selected.
"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," he said. "Work is underway to select the go forward smartphone brand."
Formal plans for a new brand are in the hands of "the marketing and product folks," Elop said. "While we are not ready to share precise details, i can assure you that it will not be the 'Nokia Lumia 1020 with Windows Phone on the AT&T LTE Network' ... too many words! That somehow doesn't roll off the tongue."
Elop, meanwhile, was also quizzed about Android on Nokia, particularly the new Android-based Nokia X lineup (above). Nokia decided to focus on Windows Phone in 2011 because it did not believe it could adequately compete with Samsung and its powerhouse lineup of Android devices.
"That was the right decision, as we have seen virtually all other OEMs from those days pushed to the side," he said, likely a reference to HTC. "Today, we are using AOSP to attack a specific market opportunity, but we are being thoughtful to do it in a way that accrues benefit to Microsoft and to Lumia."
AOSP is the Android Open Source Platform, a free, open mobile OS construction kit. As PCMag's Sascha Segan pointed out last year, the most well-known example of an AOSP-based platform is the version of Android that Amazon uses for its Kindle Fire tablets. And now, Nokia is doing the same with the Nokia X.
Why produce an Android phone when you've committed to Windows Phone? According to Elop, the Nokia X will "help connect the next billion people to Microsoft's services."
"Nokia X uses the MSFT cloud, not Google's," he wrote. "This is a great opportunity to connect new customers to Skype, Outlook.com and OneDrive for the first time. We've already seen tens of thousands of new subscribers on MSFT service."
Similarly, Microsoft will not be shying away from having competing phone makers use Windows Phone. "It is GOOD for Microsoft to encourage other OEMs to also build WP devices, and there have been some announcements in this direction recently," Elop said. "Our intent is for the Microsoft Devices Group to 'make the market' so that others can participate, so we will be doing things to facilitate other OEMs as much as possible."
At its Build conference earlier this month, Redmond said it will be giving away Windows licenses for smartphones and tablets less than 9 inches. The move means phone makers will be able to produce Windows Phone devices and small Windows-based tablets without having to pay Microsoft a per-device licensing fee.
When asked if he had any regrets about his time as Nokia's CEO, Elop said his tenure was "the most challenging and rewarding of my career."
"Now, we have the opportunity to take it to the next level within the context of MSFT," he wrote.
The Microsoft/Nokia deal formally closed on Friday, and it comes as Microsoft prepares to launch Windows Phone 8.1 this summer. For more, check out PCMag's first look at the new mobile OS, as well as our Hands On With the Nokia Lumia 630, one of several Nokia devices that will sport Windows Phone 8.1.
Meanwhile, Nokia has released a new ad (below) that touts its colorful phone lineup. The spot, set to the Kinks' "Not Like Everybody Else," features people going through the motions in a dull, black-and-white universe until they see a colorful Lumia owner.