It is no secret at this point that the Nokia name was going to be eventually supplanted by something else. Nokia lives on as a separate company, while Microsoft takes ownership of the Lumia brand and brings the new employees into the fold.

Speculation about the name change has been going for months but on October 21, Microsoft made it official by stating the new name will go from Nokia Lumia to Microsoft Lumia.

Tonight, the Conversations blog has more on the name change, including what it all means.

Speaking with Tuula Rytilä, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Phones at Microsoft, Conversations reports that some big changes are starting this week. Quoting Rytilä:

"Our global and local websites are going through a transition as we speak and in the coming days our social channels will get a new name too – they will be called Microsoft Lumia."

"This work continues across our devices, packaging and retail, to name a few. It's all going as planned and we're excited that our integration in to Microsoft continues to be on track."

Perhaps the biggest question is when can we expect to see the first Microsoft Lumia device? Rytilä was mum on specifics, though she did have this to add:

"I wouldn't comment on future product announcements, but what I can say is that that we are looking forward to unveiling a Microsoft Lumia device soon."

Windows Central is not aware of any new Lumias that are nearing release at this time, making the "soon" part a bit of a mystery. However, there is a chance that AT&T could be the first to rename the Nokia Lumia 830 to the Microsoft Lumia 830, kicking off a newly focused campaign by Redmond for the holiday season. That phone is expected to launch on Friday, November 7 according our sources.

Rytilä confirms that Microsoft continues to "honor customer warranties and provide world-class care services as before". Finally, she notes that the Nokia name lives on, at least with "entry-level…phones, such as the Nokia 130."

As we have noted, this name-change is not a surprise. Still, waving good-bye to the Nokia smartphone brand is an epic – and sad – moment. Here is looking to a bright future at Microsoft.

Source: Conversations