Microsoft acquired Nokia's devices and services division in 2014. To boost its phone business, the summary recommends that Microsoft: 1. Keep the Nokia brand name which has good reputation. 2. Lower the cost of Windows phones to below $100 without a contract to drive growth in low-cost devices. 3. Adapt marketing to trends like designing a user-friendly iTunes compatible music app, recognizing market demands even if they conflict with other business units.

1. Microsoft + Nokia Devices
Everything just
Became a lot more
colorful.
What Microsoft needs to do now to boost their Phone business!
By Marco A Garrido April 26, 2014 11:27
1.) Keep the Nokia brand name
It has a good reputation and is one of the 3 better known brands in the world. Besides, the
Microsoft and Windows brand names are seen too many times a day by the end user, and any
difficulty they may have with their computing systems in a given day will be reflected in the
manner they see their phones at the time that they are in a non signal area.
2.) Lower the cost of their Phones
“The smartphone market is going through major changes as the primary driver for growth in
the years ahead will be low-cost devices. Microsoft has been slow to make the changes
necessary for the cost of Windows Phone-based smartphones to drop below $100 without a
contract.”*
3.) Adapt to the Marketing Trends.
Recognize the market trends, even if that means to forget the rivalry with other companies.
More users prefer iTunes over Xbox, Windows Player or Zune. And, almost everyone uses a
music app in their phone. Design a user friendly music app compatible with iTunes, like the
Nokia Player or the BlackBerry music synch, in which the users don’t have to spend a life time
trying to configure a playlist or have to open a Xbox account when they are Play-Station
users. Every business unit should be independent and focus on their market demands, even if
they all belong to the same parent corporation.
4.) Unify and simplify their OS’s.
With the acquisition, Microsoft now has 6 OS. The Windows, Windows RT and Windows Phone
systems should all be integrated into one single Windows version just like in their computers.
The Android system on the Nokia X phones could either be integrated to the new Windows OS
or kept for the purposes of adaptability and competition. And the OS Series 30 in Nokia’s
cheapest mobile phones should be upgraded to platforms feature on Nokia’s Asha phones.
Other two things that Microsoft should do on their phone business are:
On the short term, get along with their new employers; they are going to be needed.
On the middle term, launch a “Take-Back and Upgrade” worldwide campaign where the
customers will be given a 15% cash rebate when buying a new phone and turning in their old
one. This program will be economically attractive to the customers and beneficial to the
brands in their sustainability and customer loyalty programs.
*Mikael Ricknäs, IDG News Service