Nokia Is Dead: Microsoft To Build In-House Smartphone Against iPhone, Android

Goodbye, Nokia. After the $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia last year, Microsoft announced that the company will remove the Nokia brand name from all future mobile devices. The Finnish brand's non-mobile division, which is not owned by Microsoft, will continue to use the name.

Since the acquisition, analysts have speculated that Microsoft had no intention of keeping the Nokia name around. Recently, the speculations are finally confirmed as Nokia's French Facebook page announced that it will be rebranded as Microsoft Lumia.

"We are on the verge of becoming 'Microsoft Lumia!'" Nokia France wrote on its page. Microsoft has also confirmed that an extensive social media rebranding campaign will roll out over the coming weeks. In addition to the name change, Microsoft is performing some serious restructuring as as many as 18,000 jobs will be cut, around 12,500 of which will be staff taken on after the Nokia acquisition.

So what is the next move for Microsoft. By consolidating the mobile division, Microsoft now has the capability to build its own in-house smartphone device. Both Nexus and the iPhone thrive as products due to the integration of hardware and software. As Microsoft currently trails both Android and iOS, the brand intends to deliver a promising new Windows Phone that could compete toe-to-toe among the smartphone leaders.