Official handset image shows new Windows Phone with 'Windows' branding

Earlier this week, details emerged on Microsoft's plans to change some of the branding for its mobile devices. The Nokia brand is being phased out and will no longer be used on future handsets, but in a change that will affect Microsoft's hardware partners as well, the Windows Phone brand is also being dropped

The changes come as Microsoft shifts its focus to a single Windows brand - one Windows platform for all devices and form factors. Microsoft has not publicly announced - or even acknowledged - that these plans are in the works but we have confirmed them with well-placed sources. 

Earlier today, we reported on yet another new company that is working on its first Windows Phone - British brand My Go. The handset is displayed on an unlinked microsite on the company's website, which is marked with a 'CONFIDENTIAL - Internal Use Only' banner at the top, indicating that it is not yet ready for public consumption, but the information contained there is both complete and well-presented, and appears to be more or less ready for launch. 

Hosted on that microsite is a cluster of high-resolution images for retailers that will eventually offer the device when it launches, and among those images is one very interesting picture of the rear of the handset. The image shows the device bearing the 'Windows' logo - which appears to be the first time that an official product shot from a Microsoft partner has shown a handset with this logo, rather than that of Windows Phone.

The header animation at the top of the page also shows the Windows logo (although a rather horribly hacked-together Windows Phone 8.1 logo is also shown at one point). Although Windows Phone 8.1 is referenced as the OS on the new handset, the clear focus throughout the microsite is on the GoFone GF47W being a Windows device, with references such as "your Windows GoFone", "time to go Windows" and "Windows GoFone with Xbox". 

It is not clear when the device itself will be released, so this doesn't give us any clear indication of when the transition from Windows Phone to Windows branding on handsets will begin to come into effect, but it seems very clear that this change is happening, and in the not-too-distant future. 

Images via My Go

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18 Comments

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I think that the 'Windows' branding on a phone is a huge mistake. To 'most' people Windows means work, and spreadsheets and malware and viruses. Windows does not mean a fun phone experience.

I would have thought that by now Microsoft was clear that Windows Phone was not resonating with people and they they should take an entirely new direction instead of going back to one windows and windows everywhere.

I recently heard that MS was thinking about rebranding IE, its WP that needs rebranding and just going 'Windows' is not what they need.

Alot of people already call it a Windows phone. We are good to go here. Lets see what they produce. It really is a good time to be a consumer. We have alot of good offerings from alot of people it really does come down to personal preference at the end of the day.

Can't help feeling that with the average person on the streets opinion of 'Windows' being a work related/negative one, this insistence of putting that brand name on Phone's in particular, is still a bad idea.

To be honest I am inclined to agree with this viewpoint. Despite Microsoft pushing it hard, I don't see anyone associating the brand with a positive experience.

Walrush said,
Can't help feeling that with the average person on the streets opinion of 'Windows' being a work related/negative one, this insistence of putting that brand name on Phone's in particular, is still a bad idea.

And yet, what do these people buy for PCs at home? Windows machines.

People complain about Windows because its the cool thing to do.

ians18 said,
Shouldn't there be a Windows logo where the circle is?

think they are getting rid of that so that companies will put windows phone on their android phones..

Brony said,
But, it is not the same Windows.

At the kernel level,
XBOX One
Windows RT
Windows 8.x
Server 2012R2
Windows Phone

Are the same.

The components differ on the user level, but even those are reaching parity with each new release.

Some might say making it just "Windows" is wrong but not if you take into account what they plan to do with threshold going forward. Windows Phone and Windows RT are becoming one, WP apps and RT apps should be able to just run on either device with the APIs coming even closer (though a different UI for phone and tablet could still be needed, or the phone UI can just scale). The UIs matching more, I expect modern 2.0 on tablets/desktop, for those who pick to use it, and the phone will come closer as well. At that point, when they look the same, run the same apps through one Windows Store, just calling it Windows instead of Windows Phone OS and Windows RT OS makes the most sense.

Cosmocronos said,
What about the front? On my 920 I have Nokia on the right, upper corner; MS could put Lumia there, same number of letters.

That would be the best thing for them to do, just have Lumia, they might not even put the Windows logo on the pack like the above picture. Nothing says they have to, it could just say Lumia on the back and in the front as well.