Microsoft drops Nokia name
Microsoft has launched its first handset since taking over the Nokia handset division, but it has dropped the Nokia name.
The new handset is the Lumia 535, which is five-inches in size. The operating system for the new handset is Windows Phone 8.1 and it is due to be available to UK customers by the end of November. The price of the handset has not yet been confirmed; however, it is thought that the cost will be around £85.
The new handset will be available in a variety of colours, including orange, black, white and green, and will have both front- and rear-facing 5MP cameras. Customers will be able to opt for a 3G single or 3G Smart Dual SIM.
Microsoft paid £4.61bn for the handset division of Nokia last year, which had been facing a lot of competition from companies such as Apple and Samsung. Windows Phone is currently the operating system for around 9.2% of smartphones in Europe, with Android dominating the market with a market share in excess of 73.9%.
Nokia will continue to exist as a mapping, technology licensing and networks company and still owns the Nokia brand. The first suggestion that Microsoft would be dropping the Nokia name came in October last year, when chief executive Stephen Elop gave an interview suggesting that the Nokia name would disappear from mobile phone handsets within ten years.