Microsoft Has Officially Cut Nokia's Brand From Its Most Popular Smartphone Line

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nokia lumia 920

Steve Kovach/Business Insider

Microsoft and Nokia have officially announced that the Finnish smartphone maker will no longer be a part of the branding for Lumia Windows Phone devices.

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Tuula Rytilä, Microsoft's senior vice president of marketing for phones, shared the news via Nokia's Conversations blog (via The Verge). This means upcoming Lumia smartphones will be referred to as "Microsoft Lumia" rather than "Nokia Lumia."

Rytilä didn't specify exactly when we'll see the first smartphone with this new branding, but did say the company is "looking forward to revealing a Microsoft Lumia device soon."

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Although Nokia's branding will no longer be present on Lumia devices, Microsoft will continue to release low-end Nokia phones.

The announcement comes several months after Microsoft's $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia's mobile division. The Verge also reported that Microsoft will axe Nokia's branding from the Lumia line earlier this week.

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The move makes sense for Microsoft, since the Lumia line seems to be the most popular Windows Phone brand to date. And, although Windows Phone is still far behind Android and iOS in terms of market share, Lumia sales seem to be growing.

Microsoft sold 9.3 million Lumia phones in its most recent quarter, which is a 5.6% increase from the 8.8 million Lumia handsets it sold during the same time last year, the company revealed in its Thursday earnings report.