Microsoft Mobile was a subsidiary of
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
involved in the development and manufacturing of
mobile phone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
s. Based in
Espoo
Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, it was established in 2014 following the
acquisition of
Nokia
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...
's Devices and Services division by Microsoft in a deal valued at €5.4 billion, which was completed in April 2014. Nokia's then-CEO,
Stephen Elop, joined Microsoft as president of its Devices division following the acquisition, and the acquisition was part of
Steve Ballmer
Steven Anthony Ballmer (; March 24, 1956) is an American business magnate and investor who served as the chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. He is the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Associ ...
's strategy to turn Microsoft into a "devices and services" company. Under a 10-year licensing agreement, Microsoft Mobile held rights to sell feature phones running the
S30+ platform under the Nokia brand.
Originally Microsoft had established a major partnership with Nokia in 2011, in which the company exclusively produced
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s using the
Windows Phone
Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design la ...
platform, and promoted Microsoft services on its
feature phone
A feature phone (also spelled featurephone) is a type or class of mobile phone that retains the form factor of earlier generations of mobile telephones, typically with press-button based inputs and a small non-touch display. They tend to use an ...
products (including
Bing
Bing most often refers to:
* Bing Crosby (1903–1977), American singer
* Microsoft Bing, a web search engine
Bing may also refer to:
Food and drink
* Bing (bread), a Chinese flatbread
* Bing (soft drink), a UK brand
* Bing cherry, a varie ...
search). Microsoft also licensed
Here Technologies
Here Technologies (stylised and Trade name, trading as HERE and here) is an American-Dutch Multinational corporation, multinational group dealing with Data mapping, mapping, location data and related automotive services to individuals and comp ...
data for its own mapping services. While Nokia's resultant
Lumia range had the largest market share out of all Windows Phone vendors, Nokia's overall market share was falling rapidly due to competition from other major vendors, resulting in a dire financial situation. In September 2013, Microsoft announced its acquisition of Nokia's devices and services businesses, which closed with the formation of a Finnish subsidiary, Microsoft Mobile. On smartphones, the Nokia name was phased out in favour of Microsoft branding on future Lumia products.
While the Lumia range continued to be successful, especially with low- and mid-range devices targeting
emerging market
An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or were ...
s, sales of both Microsoft-manufactured smartphones and feature phones began to see major declines, due primarily to the rapidly-deflating market share of Windows Phone. In 2015, Microsoft took a US$7.8 billion write-down on the Nokia purchase, and announced layoffs of 7,800 employees, primarily within Microsoft's phone business. In May 2016, Microsoft abandoned its mobile business, selling the Nokia feature phone line and trademark rights to the Finnish startup
HMD Global
HMD Global Oy, branded as HMD and Nokia Mobile, is a Finnish mobile phone manufacturer. The company is made up of the mobile phone business that Nokia sold to Microsoft in 2014, then bought back in 2016. HMD began marketing Nokia-branded smar ...
, and announcing that it planned to cut up to 1,350 positions in Finland and focus on offering its productivity services on competing mobile platforms. In 2017, Microsoft executive
Joe Belfiore
Joe Belfiore is an American business executive who has held various roles at Microsoft since August 1990, mostly in the field of user experience. He is currently the Corporate Vice President in the Experiences and Devices division of Microsoft. ...
revealed that Microsoft had ceased the development of new Windows phones and new features for
Windows 10 Mobile
Windows 10 Mobile is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft. First released in 2015, it is a successor to Windows Phone 8.1, but was marketed by Microsoft as being an edition of its PC operating system Windows 10.
Wind ...
, citing the losses in market share and lack of app development.
History
![Microsoft-Sharp-Kin-Two-Phone-Open](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Microsoft-Sharp-Kin-Two-Phone-Open.jpg)
With the acquisition of Nokia's devices and services division, Microsoft re-entered the smartphone market. In Microsoft's previous attempt,
Microsoft Kin
Kin was a short-lived mobile phone line from Microsoft designed for users of social networking. The phones, aimed at people between ages 15 and 30, were manufactured by Sharp Corporation and sold through Verizon Wireless.
Microsoft invested two ye ...
, a result of the acquisition of
Danger, Inc., had been poorly received.
2011–2013: Partnership between Microsoft and Nokia
![Nokia Lumia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Nokia_Lumia.jpg)
In February 2011, Nokia CEO
Stephen Elop and Microsoft CEO
Steve Ballmer
Steven Anthony Ballmer (; March 24, 1956) is an American business magnate and investor who served as the chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. He is the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Associ ...
jointly announced a major business partnership between the two companies, which would see Nokia adopt
Windows Phone
Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design la ...
as the primary platform for its future smartphones, replacing both Symbian and MeeGo. The deal also included the use of
Bing
Bing most often refers to:
* Bing Crosby (1903–1977), American singer
* Microsoft Bing, a web search engine
Bing may also refer to:
Food and drink
* Bing (bread), a Chinese flatbread
* Bing (soft drink), a UK brand
* Bing cherry, a varie ...
as the
search engine
A search engine is a software system designed to carry out web searches. They search the World Wide Web in a systematic way for particular information specified in a textual web search query. The search results are generally presented in a ...
on Nokia devices, and the integration of
Nokia Maps
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...
into Microsoft's own
mapping services.
Nokia announced that it would still release
one device running the MeeGo platform in 2011, but that it would devote fewer resources to future development of the platform, and would phase out Symbian entirely.
Aligning with Microsoft had been considered a possibility by analysts, due to Elop's prior employment with the company.
As Nokia was the largest mobile phone and smartphone manufacturer worldwide at the time,
it was suggested the alliance would help Windows Phone,
but from the beginning of 2011, until 2013, Nokia fell from #1 to #10 in smartphone sales.
In June 2011, Nokia was overtaken by Apple as the world's biggest smartphone maker by volume.
In Q2 2011, amid falling sales, Nokia posted a loss of
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...
368 million, after having realized a profit of €227 million in Q2 2010. In September 2011, Nokia announced it would cut another 3,500 jobs worldwide, including the closure of its
Cluj
; hu, kincses város)
, official_name=Cluj-Napoca
, native_name=
, image_skyline=
, subdivision_type1 = County
, subdivision_name1 = Cluj County
, subdivision_type2 = Status
, subdivision_name2 = County seat
, settlement_type = City
, le ...
factory in Romania, after having cut as many as 7,000 the previous April. In August 2011 Chris Weber, head of Nokia's subsidiary in the U.S., stated that "The reality is if we are not successful with Windows Phone, it doesn't matter what we do
lsewhere He further added, ''North America is a priority for Nokia
because it is a key market for Microsoft.''
On 26 October 2011, Nokia unveiled its first
Windows Phone 7
Windows Phone 7 is the first release of the Windows Phone mobile client operating system, released worldwide on October 21, 2010, and in the United States on November 8, 2010. It runs on the Windows CE 6.0 kernel.
It received multiple large upda ...
-based devices, the high-end
Lumia 800
Nokia Lumia 800 (codenamed 'Sea Ray') is a smartphone from Nokia, first unveiled on 26 October 2011 at the Nokia World 2011 event. It originally ran on Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" and was Nokia's first device to run the Windows Phone operating sy ...
and the mid-range
Lumia 710, at its Nokia World conference.
After this announcement, Nokia's share price fell about 14%, its biggest drop since July 2009. Nokia's smartphone sales, which had been increasing, collapsed.
![SymbianWMWP7USMarketShare](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/SymbianWMWP7USMarketShare.png)
Nokia reported sales "well above 1 million" of its Lumia line in 2011, 2 million sales for the first quarter of 2012, and 4 million for the second quarter of 2012, when Nokia sold only 600,000 smartphones (Symbian and Windows Phone 7) in North America. By comparison, Nokia had sold more than 30 million Symbian devices worldwide in Q4 2010 and the
Nokia N8
The Nokia N8 is a touchscreen-based smartphone developed by Nokia. Announced on 27 April 2010, the Nokia N8 was the first device to run on the Symbian^3 mobile operating system and it was the company's flagship device for the year. It was relea ...
alone had sold almost 4 million in its first quarter. In Q2 2012, 26 million
iPhones and 105 million
Android phones shipped, compared to only 6.8 million devices with Symbian and 5.4 million with Windows Phone. In announcing an alliance with
Groupon
Groupon is an American global e-commerce marketplace connecting subscribers with local merchants by offering activities, travel, goods and services in 13 countries. Based in Chicago, Groupon was launched there in November 2008, launching soon af ...
, Elop declared, "The competition... is not with other device manufacturers, it's with Google." In June 2012, Nokia chairman
Risto Siilasmaa
Risto Kalevi Siilasmaa (born 17 April 1966) is a Finnish businessperson and the chairman, founder and former CEO of F-Secure Corporation (formerly Data Fellows), an anti-virus and computer security software company based in Helsinki, Finland. He ...
told journalists that Nokia had a contingency plan in the event that Windows Phone failed, but did not specify what it was.
On 8 February 2012, Nokia announced 4,000 layoffs at smartphone manufacturing plants in Europe by the end of 2012, to move assembly closer to component suppliers in Asia. On 14 June 2012, Nokia announced 10,000 layoffs globally by the end of 2013 and that it would shut production and research sites in Finland, Germany, and Canada, in line with continuing losses and the stock price falling to its lowest point since 1996. In total, Nokia laid off 24,500 employees by the end of 2013. On 18 June 2012,
Moody's
Moody's Investors Service, often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its historical name. Moody's Investors Service provides international ...
downgraded Nokia's bond rating to
junk status. Nokia's CEO admitted that the company's inability to foresee rapid changes in the mobile phone industry was one of the major reasons for the problems. On 4 May 2012, a group of Nokia investors filed a class action against the company, as a result of disappointing sales. On 22 August 2012, it was reported that a group of Finnish Nokia investors were considering gathering signatures for the removal of Elop as CEO. In December 2012, to cut costs during a period of falling revenues, Nokia announced that it would be selling its headquarters,
Nokia House, for €170 million, and leasing the use of it back long-term.
In January 2013, Nokia reported sales of 6.6 million smartphones for Q4 2012, consisting of 2.2 million Symbian and 4.4 million Lumia devices (Windows Phone 7 and 8). In North America, only 700,000 mobile phones were sold, including smartphones. In May 2013, Nokia released the
Asha platform
The Nokia Asha platform is a mobile operating system (OS) and computing platform designed for low-end borderline smartphones, based on software from Smarterphone which was acquired by Nokia. The platform inherits UI similarities mostly from MeeG ...
for its low-end smartphone devices. ''
The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
'' commented that this might have been recognition on the part of Nokia that Windows Phones weren't selling at the bottom end of the smartphone market fast enough and that they might be "hedging their commitment" to the
Windows Phone
Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design la ...
platform. In the same month, Nokia announced its partnership with the world's largest cellular operator,
China Mobile
China Mobile is the trade name of both China Mobile Limited () and its ultimate controlling shareholder, China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd. (, formerly known as China Mobile Communications Corporation, "CMCC"), a Chinese state-ownedSt ...
, to offer Nokia's new Windows-based phone, the
Lumia 920
Nokia Lumia 920 is a smartphone developed by Nokia that runs the Windows Phone 8 operating system. It was announced on September 5, 2012, and was first released on November 2, 2012. It has a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Krait CPU and a 4.5" IP ...
, as the Lumia 920T, an exclusive Chinese variant. The partnership was a bid by Nokia to connect with China Mobile's 700 million-person customer base.
Following the second quarter of 2013, Nokia reported an operating loss of €115 million (£98.8 million), with revenues falling 24% to €5.7 billion, despite Lumia's sales figures exceeding those of
BlackBerry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
's handsets during the same period. Over the nine-quarters prior to the second quarter of 2013, Nokia sustained €4.1 billion worth of operating losses. The company experienced particular problems in both China and the U.S.; in the former, Nokia's handset revenues were the lowest since 2002, while in the U.S., "Nokia continues to show no signs of recovery in the US market. High investments, high expectations, low results." In July 2013, Nokia announced that Lumia sales were 7.4 million for the second quarter of the year – a record high, but Windows Phones in general still lacked momentum and lacked global market share, although scoring progressively better than other competing mobile platforms such as BlackBerry.
In June 2013, despite Nokia's falling commitment to the Windows Phone platform, Nokia's share of that market was a dominant 83.3% of all such phones sold;
and by October 2013, Nokia's Lumia line held over a 90% market share of all Windows Phones in use.
A part of the reason Nokia couldn't make a profit was that their low priced
Nokia Lumia 520
The Nokia Lumia 520 is an entry-level Windows Phone 8 smartphone announced by Nokia at the 2013 Mobile World Congress.
In September 2013, the Lumia 520 became the best-selling Windows device in the world, selling more units than any other model ...
dominated the market while high-end models barely sold.
2013–2014: Acquisition of Nokia's mobile phone business
On 2 September 2013, Microsoft announced that it would acquire Nokia's mobile device business in a deal worth €3.79 billion, along with another €1.65 billion to license Nokia's portfolio of patents for 10 years; a deal totaling over €5.4 billion.
Steve Ballmer
Steven Anthony Ballmer (; March 24, 1956) is an American business magnate and investor who served as the chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. He is the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Associ ...
considered the purchase to be a "bold step into the future" for both companies, primarily as a result of its recent collaboration. It was also part of Ballmer's long-term vision of transforming Microsoft into a "devices and services" company. Pending regulatory approval, the acquisition was originally expected to close in early 2014.
In an interview published in ''
Helsingin Sanomat
''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...
'', former Nokia executive Anssi Vanjoki commented that the Microsoft deal was "inevitable" due to the "failed strategy" of Stephen Elop.
In an ''Helsingin Sanomat'' interview from 2018, Nokia chairman
Risto Siilasmaa
Risto Kalevi Siilasmaa (born 17 April 1966) is a Finnish businessperson and the chairman, founder and former CEO of F-Secure Corporation (formerly Data Fellows), an anti-virus and computer security software company based in Helsinki, Finland. He ...
revealed that Microsoft were also in talks to purchase
HTC
HTC Corporation ( zh, t=宏達國際電子股份有限公司, s=宏达国际电子股份有限公司, p=Hóngdá Guójì Diànzǐ Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī, first=t) or High Tech Computer Corporation, (literally ''Hongda International Electron ...
, another Windows Phone vendor, before they opted to purchase the Nokia business.
In March 2014, it was announced that the acquisition of Nokia's mobile phone business would not be completed by the end of March as expected, but instead was delayed until April of that year due to problems with regulators in Asia. The acquisition of Nokia's mobile phone business by Microsoft was closed on 25 April 2014 for "slightly more" than the originally stated €5.44 billion.
Nokia's mobile phone assets became a part of Microsoft Mobile, a new subsidiary of Microsoft based in Finland.
While Microsoft licensed the Nokia brand under a 10-year agreement, Nokia agreed not to use its name on smartphones and to be subject to a
non-compete clause
In contract law, a non-compete clause (often NCC), restrictive covenant, or covenant not to compete (CNC), is a clause under which one party (usually an employee) agrees not to enter into or start a similar profession or trade in competition agains ...
preventing it from producing any mobile devices under the Nokia name through 31 December 2015. Microsoft acquired the
Asha
Asha (; also arta ; ae, 𐬀𐬴𐬀, translit=aṣ̌a/arta) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right(eousness)', 'ord ...
and
Lumia brands as part of the deal, a license to use the Nokia name,
as well as the
Nokia PureView
Nokia PureView is the branding of a combination of technologies used in cameras of Nokia-branded smartphones, and previously, in phones by Microsoft Mobile. PureView was first introduced with Nokia 808 PureView.
Hardware
PureView cameras have o ...
, ClearBlack, Surge, Mural, and Symbian-related trademarks.
Further, the deal included the acquisition of 8,500 design-related patents by Microsoft, and license on 30,000 "utility" patents on a non-exclusive basis for 10 years.
As part of the deal, a number of Nokia executives joined Microsoft:
Stephen Elop became the head of Microsoft's devices team (which oversees products such as
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
and
Surface
A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is ...
);
Risto Siilasmaa
Risto Kalevi Siilasmaa (born 17 April 1966) is a Finnish businessperson and the chairman, founder and former CEO of F-Secure Corporation (formerly Data Fellows), an anti-virus and computer security software company based in Helsinki, Finland. He ...
replaced Elop as interim CEO, before the appointment of
Rajeev Suri
Rajeev Suri (born 10 October 1967) is an Indian born, Singaporean business executive. He has been the CEO of Inmarsat since February 2021, and was previously the CEO of Nokia until 31 July 2020. Before being appointed Nokia's CEO in May 2014, ...
.
On 17 July 2014, it was reported that a major round of layoffs, totaling over 18,000 across the entire company, would occur at Microsoft over the following year. The majority of these layoffs were related to the integration of Nokia's former staff into Microsoft, in an effort to reduce redundancy. It was also reported that Microsoft had ended future development of Nokia's Asha, Series 40, and X lines, in favor of focusing exclusively on Windows Phone.
Shortly after the acquisition, Microsoft discontinued Nokia's
smartwatch
A smartwatch is a wearable computer in the form of a watch; modern smartwatches provide a local touchscreen interface for daily use, while an associated smartphone app provides management and telemetry, such as long-term biomonitoring. While ea ...
prototype, codenamed "Moonraker", dropping it in favour of the
Microsoft Band
Microsoft Band is a discontinued smart band with smartwatch and activity tracker/fitness tracker features, created and developed by Microsoft. It was announced on October 29, 2014. The Microsoft Band incorporates fitness tracking and health-ori ...
.
2014–2017: As a subsidiary of Microsoft, rebranding from ''Nokia'' to ''Microsoft'', divestment and closure
2014
![Microsoft Lumia 535 start-up](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Microsoft_Lumia_535_start-up.jpg)
Rebranding started in 2014. In March 2014,
Nokia Mail and Nokia Chat Nokia Mail and Nokia Chat (earlier ''Nokia Email'' and ''Ovi Mail'') were services developed by Microsoft Mobile and earlier by Nokia for its mobile phones. The service operated as a centralized, hosted service that acted as a proxy between the Mess ...
were closed, offering migration services to Microsoft's Outlook.com and Skype until April 2015.
All Nokia accounts were closed on 25 April 2015.
Most of Nokia's social media sites were rebranded as Microsoft Lumia
rather than Microsoft Mobile, to emphasize their focus on Windows Phone as opposed to other Nokia mobile phones. Windows Phone social network pages were rebranded as well,
Nokia Conversations being rebranded as
Lumia Conversations,
and NokNok.tv as Lumia Conversations UK.
The rebranding was not entirely consistent, as the Nokia Army, launched in 2012,
became the Spartan Nation. The support site for legacy phones, accessories, as well as other Nokia-branded devices and services, Nokia Discussions, was renamed the Microsoft Mobile Community.
In July 2014, it was reported by
evleaks that Microsoft was attempting to license the Nokia name in a co-branding scheme, which would have seen future devices branded as "Nokia by Microsoft".
After the acquisition of Nokia's mobile device business by Microsoft, several Lumia devices were unveiled by Microsoft Mobile in September 2014 that still carried the Nokia name, including the
Lumia 830 and
Lumia 735.
Nokia's mobile applications retained by Microsoft were rebranded as "Lumia".
In September 2014, Microsoft announced
Windows 10
Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It is the direct successor to Windows 8.1, which was released nearly two years earlier. It was released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on J ...
operating system, a common platform for smartphones, tablets, laptops and Xbox. It was made available for their Lumia line of smartphones. Due to the position of Microsoft Lumia devices being first-party hardware by Microsoft, Lumia handsets were the first to receive the
Windows Insider
Windows Insider is an open software testing program by Microsoft that allows users globally who own a valid license of Windows 11, Windows 10, or Windows Server to register for pre-release builds of the operating system previously only accessible ...
preview.
In October 2014, Microsoft announced that future Lumia devices would be branded with the "Microsoft" name and logo rather than "Nokia".
In November 2014, Microsoft announced its first self branded phone,
Microsoft Lumia 535
The Microsoft Lumia 535 is an entry-level smartphone developed by Microsoft Mobile that runs the Windows Phone 8.1 OS and is upgradable to Windows 10 Mobile. The phone features a 5-inch display. It is equipped with a 5 MP front-facing camera. It ...
.
In November 2014 The
Lumia Beta Apps
Nokia phones beta labs is a service in which Software release life cycle#Beta, beta software for Nokia smartphones are available for public download. The service was originally launched as Nokia Beta Labs in 2007 by Nokia for S60 (software platfo ...
division launched the ''Lumia Cinemagraph Beta'' which migrated content from Nokia's website to
Microsoft OneDrive
Microsoft OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) is a file hosting service operated by Microsoft. First launched in August 2007, it enables registered users to share and synchronize their files. OneDrive also works as the storage backend of the web ve ...
and subsequently implemented this feature in Lumia Cinemagraph.
Previously cinemagraphs used to be synchronized via the Nokia Memories site, the change was made in relation to migrating all content from Nokia's sites to Microsoft's services.
In December 2014, Microsoft discontinued the Nokia Sync service, which used Nokia's account service to synchronize contacts and general phone information, in favour of other offerings such as Microsoft OneDrive, which uses Microsoft accounts as part of the transition from Nokia accounts to Microsoft accounts.
2015–2017
![Nokia office building in Hervanta Tampere 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Nokia_office_building_in_Hervanta_Tampere_1.jpg)
To compete in developing markets, Microsoft launched various low- and mid-range devices—such as the
Lumia 430 Dual SIM,
532,
435
__NOTOC__
Year 435 (Roman numerals, CDXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Valentinianus (or, less f ...
,
640,
640 XL, and
540 Dual SIM—to boost Windows Phone sales and increase market share.
In Q2 2015, Lumia sold 10.5 million devices, compared to 8.2 million during the same quarter in the prior year.
As a consequence of the Microsoft Lumia 535 being as popular as its predecessor, the Nokia Lumia 520, in key markets such as India and Brazil,
Microsoft would not concentrate on releasing a high end Microsoft Lumia device until the launch of Windows 10.
In Q2 2015, feature phone sales declined year-over-year, with a total of 40 million being sold for a total revenue of $2.28 billion, and a gross margin of $330 million (14%), being significantly lower than previous years due to a global decline in the demand for feature phones in favour of smartphones.
In Q3 2015, Lumia sales increased 6.5% over the previous year,
a total of 8.6 million Lumia handsets being sold (an 18% increase). But with declining sales of 25.7 million non-Lumia phones, Q3 2015 showed a decline overall.
Despite the increased Lumia sales, costs exceeded sales revenue by $4 million, and Microsoft posted a loss of 12 cents per phone sold.
In February 2015, Microsoft stated that most Lumia devices would be able to upgrade from Windows Phone 8.1 to Windows 10 Mobile.
Joe Belfiore
Joe Belfiore is an American business executive who has held various roles at Microsoft since August 1990, mostly in the field of user experience. He is currently the Corporate Vice President in the Experiences and Devices division of Microsoft. ...
said that Microsoft was "working on" a limited version of 10 for low-end devices with 512 MB of RAM, citing the
Nokia Lumia 520
The Nokia Lumia 520 is an entry-level Windows Phone 8 smartphone announced by Nokia at the 2013 Mobile World Congress.
In September 2013, the Lumia 520 became the best-selling Windows device in the world, selling more units than any other model ...
, which at the time represented 24.5% of all Windows Phone devices sold.
On 28 April 2015, Microsoft opened the first Microsoft Priority Reseller Store, in the Indian city of
Gurgaon
Gurgaon (pronunciation: ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...
,
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
, as a move to rebrand all their Nokia stores worldwide. At the time Microsoft had 15,684 retail outlets and 324
Nokia Care centres. In addition to selling phones, the stores would also offer
Surface
A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is ...
and
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
devices. Of India's 8,872 stores only 441 would become priority resellers, while the rest would be rebranded as Microsoft Mobile Reseller stores.
On 3 June 2015, Microsoft announced the new Nokia Series 30+ powered
Nokia 105 and Nokia 105 Dual SIM devices, which would be primarily marketed to business and travelling users, first-time mobile telephone owners, and as "a back up device" for smartphone owners.
In Q4 2015, Microsoft managed to sell only 19.4 million feature phones, compared to 30.3 million in the prior year.
In June 2015, Microsoft took over
naming rights
Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...
to
Nokia Theatre L.A. Live
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...
, a 7,100-seat concert hall in Los Angeles, renaming it the Microsoft Theatre, supplying and installing new AV equipment, and renovating public spaces. L.A. Live's 40,000-square-foot outdoor plaza would be known as Microsoft Square; and Club Nokia, a 2,300 seat venue in the Plaza, would also be renamed.
On 8 July 2015, Microsoft announced a planned restructuring of Microsoft Mobile, including a $7.6 billion
write down
A write-off is a reduction of the recognized value of something. In accounting, this is a recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, this is a reduction of taxable income, as a recognition of certain expenses ...
on the acquisition of Nokia, planned layoffs of up to 7,800 jobs, and a plan to downsize its first-party smartphone business, releasing fewer devices per year and pulling out of underperforming markets. New Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated that the company planned to have a "more effective and focused phone portfolio", and aimed to "create a vibrant Windows ecosystem including our first-party device family."
In October 2015, Microsoft announced the first Lumia devices running on
Windows 10 Mobile
Windows 10 Mobile is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft. First released in 2015, it is a successor to Windows Phone 8.1, but was marketed by Microsoft as being an edition of its PC operating system Windows 10.
Wind ...
, the
Lumia 950
Microsoft Lumia 950 (codenamed ''Talkman'', a reference to the old Nokia Talkman) is a smartphone developed by Microsoft, officially revealed on 6 October 2015 alongside the larger Lumia 950 XL. The phone was first released on AT&T in the United ...
,
950 XL, and
550
__NOTOC__
Year 550 ( DL) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 550 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...
, the first two being high-end devices, the latter a budget phone.
In February 2016, the
Lumia 650
The Microsoft Lumia 650 is a smartphone developed by Microsoft, officially revealed on February 15, 2016. It is the successor to the Microsoft Lumia 640 and is aimed primarily at business users, with support for Microsoft's business applications ...
, which runs on Windows 10 Mobile, was launched. It was primarily targeted towards mid-range consumers.
In April 2016, it was revealed that 2.3 million Lumia devices were sold in the previous quarter, a major drop compared to 2015. The rapidly falling sales, coupled with Windows Phone market share dropping below 1%, led to Microsoft announcing on 23 May the "streamlining" of the business. It would lay off "up to 1,850 jobs worldwide", with up to 1,350 of those in
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. The company also wrote off US$900 million from the Nokia acquisition. Microsoft planned to complete most of these job cuts by the end of 2016, with the rest being completed by July 2017. The company stated that it would continue to develop Windows 10 Mobile, support existing Lumia and future third-party devices (implicating that it would no longer produce new Lumia models), and "embrace other mobile platforms with our productivity services".
The same month, Microsoft sold its Nokia feature phone business to
HMD Global
HMD Global Oy, branded as HMD and Nokia Mobile, is a Finnish mobile phone manufacturer. The company is made up of the mobile phone business that Nokia sold to Microsoft in 2014, then bought back in 2016. HMD began marketing Nokia-branded smar ...
, a Finnish startup backed by former Nokia executives. The
Foxconn
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., trading as Hon Hai Technology Group in China and Taiwan and Foxconn internationally, is a Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer established in 1974 with headquarters in Tucheng, New ...
subsidiary FIH Mobile acquired a factory in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, as well as other distribution and manufacturing assets, from Microsoft Mobile as well. HMD and FIH announced that they would collaborate on developing and manufacturing new devices under the Nokia trademark (having reached a new 10-year license for the brand, and the
Android-based
Nokia 6
The Nokia 6 is a Nokia-branded mid-range smartphone running on Android. It is the first smartphone from the Finnish company HMD Global, created through the partial divestment of Nokia's devices division; the first Nokia-branded smartphone since ...
smartphone as its first device), with input from Nokia on design and incorporation of its technologies.
In October 2017, Microsoft executive
Joe Belfiore
Joe Belfiore is an American business executive who has held various roles at Microsoft since August 1990, mostly in the field of user experience. He is currently the Corporate Vice President in the Experiences and Devices division of Microsoft. ...
revealed that Microsoft would no longer develop new phone hardware, and that Windows 10 Mobile would only receive maintenance releases and patches from then on, citing its low market share and Microsoft's abandonment of its mobile business.
Hardware products
Lumia
![Lumia950](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Lumia950.jpg)
Lumia was a line of
touchscreen
A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s and, previously,
tablet computer
A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...
s, introduced in November 2011. All Lumia mobile telephones run on the
Windows Phone
Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design la ...
operating system. The only Lumia tablet
Lumia 2520, running
Windows RT
Windows RT is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft. It is a version of Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 built for the 32-bit ARM architecture (ARMv7). First unveiled in January 2011 at Consumer Electronics Show, the Windows RT 8 operat ...
, was introduced in November 2013 and has been discontinued. The Lumia is Microsoft's flagship phone portfolio.
In October 2014, Microsoft officially announced that it would phase out the Nokia brand in its promotion and production of Lumia smartphones, and that future Lumia models would be branded solely with the name and logo of Microsoft.
In November 2014, Microsoft announced its first self-branded phone,
Microsoft Lumia 535
The Microsoft Lumia 535 is an entry-level smartphone developed by Microsoft Mobile that runs the Windows Phone 8.1 OS and is upgradable to Windows 10 Mobile. The phone features a 5-inch display. It is equipped with a 5 MP front-facing camera. It ...
.
Rebranding the Lumia line from "Nokia" to "Microsoft" did not affect sales, though some critics believed that the change might influence consumers' decisions due to Nokia being an established phone brand, compared to Microsoft.
In October 2015, Microsoft announced the first Lumia devices running on
Windows 10 Mobile
Windows 10 Mobile is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft. First released in 2015, it is a successor to Windows Phone 8.1, but was marketed by Microsoft as being an edition of its PC operating system Windows 10.
Wind ...
platform, the
Lumia 950
Microsoft Lumia 950 (codenamed ''Talkman'', a reference to the old Nokia Talkman) is a smartphone developed by Microsoft, officially revealed on 6 October 2015 alongside the larger Lumia 950 XL. The phone was first released on AT&T in the United ...
,
Lumia 950 XL
The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL (codenamed ''Cityman'', a reference to the old Nokia Cityman) is a smartphone developed by Microsoft, officially revealed on October 6, 2015 and released on November 20, 2015 alongside the smaller Lumia 950. The Lumia ...
, and
Lumia 550. In addition. Microsoft stated that most Lumia devices would be able to upgrade from Windows Phone 8/8.1 to Windows 10, from December 2015.
In October 2017, Microsoft executive
Joe Belfiore
Joe Belfiore is an American business executive who has held various roles at Microsoft since August 1990, mostly in the field of user experience. He is currently the Corporate Vice President in the Experiences and Devices division of Microsoft. ...
revealed that Microsoft would no longer develop new phone hardware, and that Windows 10 Mobile would only receive maintenance releases and patches from then on, citing its low market share and Microsoft's abandonment of its mobile business.
For its Microsoft Lumia series Microsoft Mobile created such exclusive content as the
Lumia imaging apps
Lumia imaging apps are imaging applications by Microsoft Mobile and formerly by Nokia for Lumia devices built on the technology of Scalado (except for Lumia Panorama which was developed earlier by Nokia originally for Symbian and MeeGo devices ...
(that make use of the
PureView
Nokia PureView is the branding of a combination of technologies used in cameras of Nokia-branded smartphones, and previously, in phones by Microsoft Mobile. PureView was first introduced with Nokia 808 PureView.
Hardware
PureView cameras have ...
technology on higher end Lumia devices) and new software was often tested through the
Lumia Beta Apps
Nokia phones beta labs is a service in which Software release life cycle#Beta, beta software for Nokia smartphones are available for public download. The service was originally launched as Nokia Beta Labs in 2007 by Nokia for S60 (software platfo ...
.
Nokia X
![My green Nokia X (13582469484)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/My_green_Nokia_X_%2813582469484%29.jpg)
In mid-September 2013, a media report revealed that Nokia tested the Android operating system on both its
Lumia and
Asha
Asha (; also arta ; ae, 𐬀𐬴𐬀, translit=aṣ̌a/arta) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right(eousness)', 'ord ...
hardware. On 11 December 2013, a report showed that development of the Asha-like device, codenamed "
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
", was continuing, despite the finalisation of Nokia's acquisition by Microsoft. In February 2014, in Barcelona, Spain, the
Nokia X family
The Nokia X family was a range of budget smartphones that was produced and marketed by Microsoft Mobile, originally introduced in February 2014 by Nokia. The smartphones run on the Nokia X platform, a Linux-based operating system which was a for ...
was unveiled at
Mobile World Congress
MWC Barcelona (formerly but still commonly referred to as Mobile World Congress) is an annual trade show organised by GSMA, dedicated primarily to the mobile communications industry.
The event is held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain at the Fir ...
. These devices, which were aimed towards emerging markets, run a modified version of
Android known as
Nokia X Software Platform, which was aligned towards Microsoft services and did not use
Google Play Store
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sys ...
. In a company memo released in July 2014, it was announced that, as part of cutbacks, Microsoft would end the Asha, Series 40, and X range entirely, in favor of solely producing and encouraging the use of Windows Phone products.
Asha
![Nokia Asha 501](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Nokia_Asha_501.jpg)
The Asha series consisted of feature phones and low-end smartphones targeted mainly at emerging markets. The series has a mixture of full-touchscreen, "touch and type", QWERTY, and traditional
T9-keypad devices. Originally, the Asha devices ran on Nokia's veteran operating system
Series 40
Series 40, often shortened as S40, is a software platform and application user interface (UI) software on Nokia's broad range of mid-tier feature phones, as well as on some of the Vertu line of luxury phones. It was one of the world's most wi ...
. Nokia later created the
Asha platform
The Nokia Asha platform is a mobile operating system (OS) and computing platform designed for low-end borderline smartphones, based on software from Smarterphone which was acquired by Nokia. The platform inherits UI similarities mostly from MeeG ...
as a result of their acquisition of
Smarterphone
Smarterphone was a Norwegian company making software for mobile phones, founded in 1993 as Kvaleberg AS before being renamed in December 2010.
In June 2007, venture capital investor Ferd invested €2 million in the company.
By January 2010, ...
. In May 2013, the
Asha 501 became the first device running under the new OS, and all new Ashas since have been running on the new Asha platform. During the July 2014 job cuts and restructuring at Microsoft, these device lines were moved to "maintenance mode", and would be discontinued, along with Nokia X and Series 40, in favour of solely producing Windows Phone products.
Series 40
![Nokia 6300](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Nokia_6300.jpg)
Series 40, or S40, was a
software platform
A computing platform or digital platform is an environment in which a piece of software is executed. It may be the hardware or the operating system (OS), even a web browser and associated application programming interfaces, or other underlying ...
and
user interface
In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...
(UI) on
Nokia
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...
's broad range of mid-tier
feature phone
A feature phone (also spelled featurephone) is a type or class of mobile phone that retains the form factor of earlier generations of mobile telephones, typically with press-button based inputs and a small non-touch display. They tend to use an ...
s, as well as on some of the
Vertu
Vertu is a British-based manufacturer and retailer of luxury handmade mobile phones, established by Finnish mobile-phone manufacturer Nokia in 1998.
Concept
According to ''The Economist'', the concept was to market phones explicitly as fashi ...
line of luxury phones. It was one of the world's most widely used mobile phone platforms. On 25 January 2012, Nokia announced that the company had sold over 1.5 billion Series 40 devices. Although S40 has more features than the
Series 30
The Series 30, often shortened as S30, is a software platform and application user interface created by Nokia for its entry level mobile phones, lower than Series 40. S30 phones are not capable of running Java apps. In 2014, Microsoft acquired ...
platform, it was not used for smartphones, where Nokia primarily used
Windows Phone
Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design la ...
and, until 2012,
Symbian
Symbian is a discontinued mobile operating system
A mobile operating system is an operating system for mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typic ...
. However, in 2012 and 2013, several Series 40 phones from the
Asha
Asha (; also arta ; ae, 𐬀𐬴𐬀, translit=aṣ̌a/arta) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right(eousness)', 'ord ...
line, such as the 308, 309, and 311, were advertised as "
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s" although they did not support smartphone features like multitasking or a full-fledged
HTML
The HyperText Markup Language or HTML is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and scripting languages such as JavaScri ...
browser. In July 2014, it was announced that Microsoft would discontinue Series 40.
Series 30+
![Nokia215front 3530](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Nokia215front_3530.jpg)
Series 30+ is a software platform and user interface that was used by Microsoft Mobile for its entry-level mobile devices. The first Series 30+ device was the
Nokia 130
Nokia 130 and Nokia 130 Dual Sim are Nokia-branded entry-level feature phones from HMD Global. Originally introduced September 2014 by Microsoft Mobile, the 130 supports one Mini-SIM card and 130 Dual Sim supports two Mini-SIM cards. The cost ...
, which had basic features such as a flashlight, FM radio, USB charging, video playback from microSD cards, and Bluetooth and USB connectivity, but no internet access. The
Nokia 215
The Nokia 215 is a Nokia-branded dual-band GSM feature phone by Microsoft Mobile. The phone is available in black, white, and bright green.
Specifications
The Nokia 215 has a VGA camera, speakerphone, multimedia playback, MMS messaging, web brows ...
, released in 2014, allowed users to browse the internet with
Bing
Bing most often refers to:
* Bing Crosby (1903–1977), American singer
* Microsoft Bing, a web search engine
Bing may also refer to:
Food and drink
* Bing (bread), a Chinese flatbread
* Bing (soft drink), a UK brand
* Bing cherry, a varie ...
and
MSN Weather
MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95.
The Microsoft Net ...
and came pre-installed with
Opera Mini
Opera Mini is a mobile web browser made by Opera. It was primarily designed for the Java ME platform, as a low-end sibling for Opera Mobile, but it is now developed exclusively for Android. It was previously developed for iOS, Windows 10 Mobile, ...
.
In June 2015, Microsoft further expanded the line of Nokia-branded feature phones with the
Nokia 105 aimed specifically at
developing nation
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
s, and named after an earlier model with the same target audience,
but marketed also towards present smartphone owners, being "perfect for those looking to own their first mobile phone or for those needing a reliable back-up phone for travel and fun."
In the third quarter of 2015, the
Nokia 222
The Nokia 222 is a Nokia-branded dual-band GSM candybar-type phone originally developed by Microsoft Mobile and now sold by HMD Global. The phone is available in black, white.
Specifications
Nokia 222 has a 2.0 MP camera, speakerphone, multim ...
was released. It featured a larger, 2.4-inch screen. In December 2015, the
Nokia 230
Nokia 230 is a line of Microsoft Mobile. The Nokia 230 has one SIM card slot, and the Nokia 230 Dual SIM with two slots. Initially, Nokia 230 was only released in black and white, but would later add dark blue and light gray color options after t ...
was the last Nokia phone from Microsoft. It had an aluminium body, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera, and a dedicated selfie camera key. Series 30+ still lives today as part of
HMD Global
HMD Global Oy, branded as HMD and Nokia Mobile, is a Finnish mobile phone manufacturer. The company is made up of the mobile phone business that Nokia sold to Microsoft in 2014, then bought back in 2016. HMD began marketing Nokia-branded smar ...
.
Series 30
Series 30, or S30, was a software platform and
user interface
In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...
created by
Nokia
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...
for its entry-level mobile devices. S30 phones are not capable of running
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
apps. By mid 2014, Microsoft discontinued S30 for its Nokia-branded mobile devices.
Mobile accessories
Besides phones Microsoft Mobile also produces mobile-phone accessories such as the Bluetooth enabled Treasure Tags. In newer devices Microsoft has bundled the Swedish company Colourd's headsets as opposed to first-party hardware.
In late 2014, Microsoft launched a portable battery charger called Microsoft Portable Power,
succeeded by Microsoft Portable Dual Chargers.
Treasure Tag
Treasure Tag, originally Nokia Treasure Tag, is an
NFC
NFC may refer to:
Psychology
* Need for cognition, in psychology
* Need for closure, social psychological term
Sports
* NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game
* NCAA Football Championship (Philippines)
* Nati ...
and
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
enabled
keychain
A keychain (also key fob or keyring) is a small ring or chain of metal to which several keys can be attached. The length of a keychain allows an item to be used more easily than if connected directly to a keyring. Some keychains allow one or b ...
companion to Lumia devices. When Treasure Tags are attached to small valuables, such as keys or wallets, the Lumia device can show a map to help locate them.
Treasure Tag Mini, originally Nokia Treasure Tag Mini, was launched by Microsoft in 2014 as a successor to the original Treasure Tag. It added support for iOS and Android (including Nokia X devices). Compared to the original, the Treasure Tag Mini comes in fewer colours, has shorter battery life, lacks NFC capabilities, and has no notification tones.
Corporate affairs
Corporate governance
When Nokia's devices and services group entered Microsoft's workforce, former Nokia CEO
Stephen Elop became the new head of Microsoft Devices, which includes other
hardware such as the
Surface
A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is ...
and
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
. Elop was joined by Nokia executives Jo Harlow (smart devices), Juha Putkiranta (operations), Timo Toikkanen (feature phones), and Chris Weber (sales and marketing), who gained similar positions at Microsoft. Microsoft Devices retained most of Nokia's groups, including the hardware and studios teams, while software teams were merged with Microsoft's respective teams.
The transition worked without much complication, as Elop had previously reorganised Nokia's structure to be similar to Microsoft's.
Many former Nokia executives have joined other projects at Microsoft, an example being Pasi Saarikko who became Principal Hardware Engineering Manager at the
Microsoft HoloLens
Microsoft HoloLens is an augmented reality (AR)/ mixed reality (MR) headset developed and manufactured by Microsoft. HoloLens runs the Windows Mixed Reality platform under the Windows 10 operating system. Some of the positional tracking techn ...
project.
On 17 June 2015, as part of a reorganisation, Microsoft announced that former Nokia executives
Stephen Elop,
and Jo Harlow would be leaving the company.
As part of the structural reorganisation of Microsoft the Devices and Studios group was merged with the Operating Systems group to form the new Windows and Devices group, which is headed by
Terry Myerson
Terry Myerson (born 1972 or 1973) is an American venture partner at Madrona Venture Group and an operating executive at The Carlyle Group. Myerson was previously an Executive Vice President at Microsoft, and head of its Windows and Devices Group.
...
.
Other than Microsoft Lumia, this new engineering group includes Microsoft hardware divisions such as
Surface
A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is ...
,
Band
Band or BAND may refer to:
Places
*Bánd, a village in Hungary
*Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania
*Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...
,
HoloLens
Microsoft HoloLens is an augmented reality (AR)/ mixed reality (MR) headset developed and manufactured by Microsoft. HoloLens runs the Windows Mixed Reality platform under the Windows 10 operating system. Some of the positional tracking tech ...
, and
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
, as well as the
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
operating system.
Headquarters
![Nokian pääkonttori Keilaniemessä](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Nokian_p%C3%A4%C3%A4konttori_Keilaniemess%C3%A4.jpg)
Microsoft Mobile's
head office
Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top ...
was Microsoft Talo in
Keilaniemi
Keilaniemi ( sv, Kägeludden) is a district in the south-eastern part of Espoo, Finland.
Geography
Keilaniemi is bordered by the university district of Otaniemi to the north, the commercial/residential district of Tapiola to the west, the Keila ...
,
Espoo
Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...
, Finland. The building was previously named Nokia House, and was part of Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's device business, becoming Microsoft Mobile's headquarters in April 2014 and receiving its new name. It is now occupied by both Microsoft Finland
and
Tieto
Tietoevry Oyj, Tietoevry Corporation, (Tieto prior to Jun 2019) is a Finnish IT software and service company providing IT and product engineering services. Tietoevry is domiciled in Espoo, Finland, and the company's shares are listed on the NASD ...
.
See also
*
Nokia
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...
*
Microsoft Kin
Kin was a short-lived mobile phone line from Microsoft designed for users of social networking. The phones, aimed at people between ages 15 and 30, were manufactured by Sharp Corporation and sold through Verizon Wireless.
Microsoft invested two ye ...
*
Zune HD
The Zune HD is a portable media player in the Zune product family released on September 15, 2009, by Microsoft. It was a direct competitor with Apple's iPod Touch series of mobile devices. It was initially released in 16 and 32 GB capacities. A ...
*
Danger Inc.
Danger, Inc. was a company specializing in hardware design, software, and services for mobile computing devices. Its most notable product was the T-Mobile Sidekick (also known as Danger Hiptop), a popular early smartphone. The Sidekick or Hiptop ...
*
HMD Global
HMD Global Oy, branded as HMD and Nokia Mobile, is a Finnish mobile phone manufacturer. The company is made up of the mobile phone business that Nokia sold to Microsoft in 2014, then bought back in 2016. HMD began marketing Nokia-branded smar ...
*
Jolla
Jolla Oy (sometimes referred to as Jolla Ltd.) is a Finnish technology company; vendor and developer of Sailfish OS. Headquartered in Tampere, Finland, Jolla has its own research and development offices in Helsinki, Tampere and Cyberport, Hong ...
*
Alcatel Mobile
Alcatel (formerly Alcatel Mobile Phones and Alcatel OneTouch) (previously ALCATEL) is a French brand of mobile handsets owned by Finnish consumer electronics company Nokia and used under license by Chinese electronics company TCL Technology. Th ...
Note
References
External links
*
Official blog"Microsoft Mobile Oy – tässä on nokialaisten uusi koti" (Microsoft Mobile – this is the kind of Nokia new home) Talouselämä, 12 December 2013 (Finnish)
{{Major mobile device companies
2014 establishments in Finland
2017 disestablishments in Finland
Mobile phone companies of Finland
Microsoft acquisitions
Microsoft subsidiaries
Microsoft Windows
Mobile phone manufacturers
Nokia
Electronics companies established in 2014
Telecommunications equipment vendors
Windows Phone
Defunct mobile phone manufacturers
Finnish companies established in 2014