With Launch Imminent, Lumia Gets Microsoft Branding Across the Web

Microsoft is expected to launch it's first-ever company branded Lumia smartphone on Tuesday (November 11). The company has been teasing a #MoreLumia event over the past week or so through the social media channels and with the release of a Big on Experience video that pretty much says a little more than nothing.

The video comes as part of a special new Microsoft Lumia YouTube channel.

But, there's a few additional areas that may have gotten overlooked that are also part of the sweeping rebranding. Over the weekend, Microsoft chose to rebrand and move the Conversations blog to a new home. Now called Lumia Conversations, the blog should be your one stop for Microsoft messaging and communications around its

The new blog is here: Lumia Conversations

The RSS feed: Lumia Conversations RSS

You can also follow all the latest Lumia news using the brand new Microsoft Lumia channels on Facebook and Twitter, and help Microsoft build crowd-sourced feedback on Lumia devices at its new Lumia Reviews site.

It seems like it has taken a while for the acquisition of Nokia's phone business to coalesce (announced in September 2013 and finalized in April 2014), but the full rebranding will finally and clearly put Microsoft's stamp on the handset procurement. This, in many ways, signals the end of an era, particularly for Nokia. Some see the rebranding of the Lumia as a beginning for Microsoft's hardware business, but in truth the company has dabbled in hardware long before the Surface tablet released (remember SPOT devices or the Zune?). But, it's is a different world and it seems Microsoft is not as hard pressed to be a top hardware seller, but instead use hardware as simply a platform for its burgeoning Cloud and Office services.

The Lumia remains the top selling device in the Windows Phone world, though it still sits pretty low overall against iOS and Android. And, with Microsoft pushing out its apps and services to those platforms first, many question whether or not the Lumia can survive even though the Microsoft app experience is better on Windows Phone.

Yet, Microsoft has made some noteworthy adjustments to its company over the past couple years, and even more since Satya Nadella took the helm. Microsoft was counted out early on, but has shown a strong resurgence that many industry types didn't believe was possible.

Can Microsoft make something of its Lumia smartphone business? Time will tell and a simple rebranding can't do it alone. But, the company seems to have reinvented the "cool factor" as of late with renewed interest in its Surface tablet line and the release of its fitness oriented smartwatch, the Microsoft Band, which is selling out everywhere online and in the company's stores. The "cool factor" is what won Apple a lengthy spot in the limelight, but it seems that tide is now turning toward the Redmond shores.